Ramesh Kumar - Cinematographer
A graduate of the Film and Television Institute of Tamil Nadu, won the best cinematography award for his work for his very first film, Oomai Vizhigal (1986). It is with Oomai Vizhigal, the Cinemascope format became an integral part of filmmaking practice in the industry. The credit for creating the film's astounding visual impact goes to Ramesh Kumar.
His second film Uzhavan Magan (1987), is still remembered today for its cliff-hanger bullock cart race that was acclaimed as an equivalent of the spectacular chariot race in Ben Hur (1959). This magnificent sequence owes a lot to Ramesh who worked as the Director of Photography on this film, deploying eight cinemascope cameras to film it, an unprecedented method in the local industry during those times.
His debut film in the Kannada language Independence Day created equal ripples in the region for its amazing visual effects, a result of Ramesh Kumar's creative interaction with Sabu Cyril, the art director, in the construction of miniatures and with software technicians of Hongkong who gave the finishing touches.
He is recognized in Bollywood as well for his impressive work in the Sunny Deol feature Indian (2001).
In the field of film commercials, Ramesh Kumar has more than three hundred films to his credit as a cinematographer and at least in fifty of them, he takes the credit for being both a cinematographer and a director.
Being a highly respected technician, he is the only Indian Cinematographer who has the honour of conducting a workshop under the aegis of the Kodak Film Company, a privilege that was enjoyed until then only by cinematographers of international repute.
