Eswaran Ramar, known by his screen name Theni Eswar, is an Indian cinematographer who works mainly in

Tamil cinema 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 Ch ...

and

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...

Early life

Eswar grew up in Theni completing his schooling and he graduated in diploma in automobile engineering. In his college days he took up photography, which led to a career. He went on to receive a Kodak Award for

street photography Street photography is photography conducted for art or inquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within Public space, public places. It usually has the aim of capturing images at a decisive or poignant moment by caref ...

. He spent most of his early life in Theni before moving to Chennai.

Film career

Eswar moved to Chennai to start his career as a cinematographer. He also shot the photographs for

Vairamuthu Vairamuthu Ramasamy (born 13 July 1953) is an Indian lyricist, poet, and novelist working in the Tamil film industry. He is a prominent figure in the Tamil literary world. A master's graduate from the Pachaiyappa's College in Chennai, he firs ...

novels including ''Kallikattu Ithigasam'', ''Karuvaachi Kaaviyam'', and ''Tamizhatrupadai''. During his search for a job as an assistant cinematographer he collaborated with Baskar Sakthi, a writer in

Ananda Vikatan ''Ananda Vikatan'' is a Tamil-language weekly magazine published from Chennai, India. History ''Ananda Vikatan'' was started by Late Pudhoor Vaidyanadhaiyar in February 1926 as a monthly publication. The issue for December 1927 was not publishe ...

who was at that time writing a series called ''Route Bus'' and was given the role of photographing the scenic routes of travel, places and the locals. He shot the films ''

Sivappathigaram ''Sivappathigaram'' () is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language vigilante action film written and directed by Karu Palaniappan. The film stars Vishal and Mamta Mohandas, while Raghuvaran, Manivannan, Upendra Limaye, Rajan P. Dev, and Ganja Karuppu pla ...

'', ''

Kattradhu Thamizh ''Kattradhu Thamizh'' (; previously titled is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language psychological thriller film written and directed by Ram, who directs his debut film. Produced by Salmara Mohammad Sharief, it stars Jiiva, Anjali and Karunas. The film ...

'', ''

Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu ''Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu'' () is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language sports drama film written and directed by newcomer Suseenthiran, starring debutant Vishnu Vishal, Kishore, and Saranya Mohan along with numerous other newcomers. The music was compose ...

'' and more. During the photoshoot of ''Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu'', director

Suseenthiran Suseenthiran is an Indian film director and screenwriter in Tamil cinema. He rose to fame with his directorial debut ''Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu'' (2009). Career Suseenthiran, who originally hails from a small village called Amarapoondi in Palani ...

hired him as a cinematographer for his next film, ''

Azhagarsamiyin Kuthirai ''Azhagarsamiyin Kuthirai'' () is a 2011 Tamil-language mystery comedy drama film directed by Suseenthiran, based on the short story of the same name penned by writer Bhaskar Sakthi. The film stars Appukutty and Saranya Mohan in lead and features ...

''. Then he collaborated with the directors

Bala Bala may refer to: Films * ''Bala'' (1976 film), an English-language dance documentary * ''Bala'' (2002 film), a Tamil-language action film * ''Bala'' (2019 film), a Hindi-language black comedy Life forms *Bala shark (''Balantiocheilos melano ...

Ram Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to: * A male sheep * Random-access memory, computer memory * Ram Trucks, US, since 2009 ** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans ** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...

and

Gowtham Menon Gautham Vasudev Menon (born 25 February 1973) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, film producer and actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema, Tamil film industry. He has also directed Telugu cinema, Telugu, Hindi cinema, Hindi and Ma ...

. He worked with Ram on the film ''

Taramani Tharamani is an area in the south Indian city of Chennai. It is known for the presence of the city's first IT parks and numerous government educational and research institutions. It is located adjacent to the posh residential area of Adyar an ...

'', which was his second venture, and he is credited as an additional cinematographer in

's movie ''

Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada ''Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada'' () is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language romantic action thriller film written and directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon. The film stars Silambarasan and Manjima Mohan (in her Tamil debut), while Baba Sehgal plays the ro ...

''. He also shot Bala's movie ''

Naachiyaar ''Naachiyaar'' is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language action crime film written, produced and directed by Bala. The film featured Jyothika in the title role, with G. V. Prakash Kumar and Ivana in other leading roles. The film tells the tale of the po ...

'' which released in 2018. Another film in which he worked with debutant director Lenin Bharathi titled ''

Merku Thodarchi Malai ''Merku Thodarchi Malai'' () is a 2018 Indian Tamil language drama film. It was directed by Lenin Bharathi and produced by Vijay Sethupathi, with cinematographer Theni Eswar and composer Ilaiyaraaja. This is said to be Ilaiyaraaja's 1001th fil ...

'' which released in the same year. He won the Best Cinematographer Award in

Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards is the annual film festival conducted in Oslo to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Tamil film industry. NTFF was arranged for the first time in 2010 by VN Music Dreams. NTFF i ...

and Bioscope film festival held in Punjab for that movie. He again collaborated with Ram in the movie ''

Peranbu ''Peranbu'' (; released internationally as ''Resurrection''), is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Ram and produced by P. L. Thenappan under Shree Rajalakshmi Films. It stars Mammootty, and Anjali. The film's sco ...

'' with actor

Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam-language films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, ...

as the lead. The film was released in February 2019.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eswar, Theni Indian cinematographers Cinematographers from Tamil Nadu Tamil cinematographers Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Theni district