Shelkey Maruti Rao (25 April 1921–2000) was an Indian cinematographer who worked mainly in

Tamil films Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a Chenn ...

Career

Cinematography

Rao was born in

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also known as Thanjai, previously known as Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 12th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of southern Indian religion, art ...

on 25 April 1921. He became interested in photography as a student. He carried his camera to school regularly. Impressed by his interest in photography, his neighbour, N. C. Pillai, the-then editor of ''Flash'' magazine, asked if he would be interested in joining cinema. With permission from his parents, Rao enlisted as an apprentice in Pragajothi Films in 1940 for ''Choodamani'', a

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

film. The film's main cinematographer was Mama Shinde. Rao's next film was the

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

film ''

Kalamegam Kaalamegam or Kālamēgam (Tamil: காளமேகம்; born Varathan), also known as Kavi Kalamegam was a prominent 15th-century Tamil poet. Born into a Vaishnavite family, he fell in love with a woman named Mohanaangi, who was affiliated wi ...

'', directed by

Ellis R. Dungan Ellis Roderick Dungan (May 11, 1909 – December 1, 2001) was an American film director, who was well known for working in Indian films, predominantly in Tamil cinema, from 1936 to 1950. He was an alumnus of the University of Southern Californi ...

. He worked as assistant under

Marcus Bartley Marcus Bartley (22 April 1917 14 March 1993) was an Anglo-Indian cinematographer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema along with a few Hindi, Malayalam, and Tamil films. He was the cinematographer of all time classics like '' Shav ...

. He later moved to Vel Pictures in

Guindy Guindy is a neighborhood of Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The Kathipara junction where Anna Salai, Mount-Poonamallee Road, Inner Ring Road, 100 Feet Road or Jawaharlal Nehru Road, and GST Road meet here. It is one of the important nodal points of ...

and worked on the film ''Bhakthi Mala''. The cinematographer was impressed with Rao's work, such that he took him on as first assistant and gave him the responsibility of handling the Mitchell camera. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Rao joined Pragathi Studio and was the still photographer for '' Sri Valli'', produced by

A. V. Meiyappan Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar (28 July 1907 – 12 August 1979), also known as A. V. Meiyappan, A. V. Meiyappa Chettiar or AVM, was an Indian film producer, film director and screenwriter who established AVM Productions in Vadapalani, Chennai. ...

. When Meiyappan moved to

Karaikudi Karaikudi is the largest city of Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the centre of the Karaikudi Metropolitan Area, the 21st largest urban Agglomeration of Tamil Nadu based on 2011 census data. It is part of the area ...

, Rao got to work as still photographer and first photographer for R. N. Nagendra Rao's ''Mahathma Kabir''. When the film's German photographer left, Rao finished the film. When Meiyappan returned from Karaikudi, Rao worked as second photographer and as manager of the still department. During the making of P. Neelakandan's ''

Or Iravu ''Or Iravu'' () is a 1951 Indian Tamil-language film directed by P. Neelakantan and co-written by him and C. N. Annadurai. Produced by AVM Productions, it is based on Annadurai's play of the same name. The film stars K. R. Ramasamy, reprisi ...

'', Rao worked for the first time as the main cinematographer and his cinematography received widespread acclaim. He went on to work in as many as 60 films: 34 in Tamil, 13 in

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

, eight in

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

and five in Telugu. He was the make-up test photographer for actors like

Sivaji Ganesan Villupuram. Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001), better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, was an Indian actor and film producer. He was mainly active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th centur ...

, S. V. Subbiah,

Vyjayanthimala Vyjayanthimala Bali ( Raman; born 13 August 1933), known mononymously as Vyjayanthimala, is an Indian parliamentarian, dancer and former actress. Regarded as one of Hindi cinema's greatest actresses and dancers, she is the recipient of sever ...

and

Hema Malini Hema Malini Dharmendra Deol (born 16 October 1948; ) is an Indian actress, director, producer, and politician who is currently serving as a member of the Lok Sabha from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), representing Mathura constituency since 2 ...

before they entered cinema.

Other work

Besides cinematography, Rao produced several television serials and documentaries. He also served as an honorary member of

Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission The Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) is a government body of the state of Tamil Nadu, India, responsible for the recruitment of candidates for various state government jobs through competitive examinations. It is the successor of t ...

, and the Selection Committee Chairman for the

Film and Television Institute of India The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is a film institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India and aided by the Central Government of India. ...

Select filmography

*''

'' (1951) *'' Parasakthi'' (1952) *''

Andha Naal ''Andha Naal'' ( ) is a 1954 Indian Tamil-language mystery- thriller film, produced by A. V. Meiyappan and directed by S. Balachander. It is the first film noir in Tamil cinema, and the first Tamil film to be made without songs, dance, or s ...

'' (1954) * ''

Annai Annai may refer to: * Annai, Guyana, a small village in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of Guyana * ''Annai'' (1962 film), an Indian Tamil-language film * ''Annai'' (2000 film), an Indian Tamil-language film by Manobala * '' Annai Velank ...

'' (1962) * ''

Kunkhumam ''Kunkhumam'' () is a 1963 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Krishnan–Panju and written by Sakthi T. K. Krishnasamy. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Urvashi Sarada (in her Tamil debut), S. S. Rajendran, C. R. Vijayakumari and R. Muthu ...

'' (1963) *''

Server Sundaram ''Server Sundaram'' is a 1964 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film directed by Krishnan–Panju and produced by A. V. Meiyappan. The film stars Nagesh as the title character. Muthuraman and K. R. Vijaya play the other lead roles while Maj ...

'' (1964) *'' Anbe Vaa'' (1966) *''

Enga Mama ''Enga Mama'' () is a 1970 Indian Tamil-language film, directed by A. C. Tirulokchandar and produced by P.K.V.Sankaran and Aarumugam. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Jayalalithaa and Vennira Aadai Nirmala. It is a remake of the 1968 Hindi ...

'' (1970)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, S. Maruti Cinematographers from Tamil Nadu 1921 births Tamil cinematographers People from Thanjavur 2000 deaths