A day after the demise of celebrated Malayalam poet and lyricist ONV Kurup, Kerala lost another stalwart with the death of U R Anandakuttan, one of the best cinematographers of Malayalam cinema.
Anandakuttan, who been undergoing treatment for cancer for some time, died at a private hospital at Cochin at 11 am on Sunday. He was 61 and is survived by his wife Geetha and three daughters. His body will be cremated at Ravipuram crematorium at 10 am on Monday.
A prodigious cinematographer, Anandakuttan wielded camera for more than 300 films, many of which were hit films. His Highness Abdullah, Bharatham, Atharvam, Sadayam, Manivathoorile Aaayiram Shivarathrikal, Akashadoothu were some of the hit films he had worked with.
Born in 1954 as son of Ramakrishnan Nair and Karthiyayani Amma, Anandakuttan had studied cinematography after pre-degree at Chennai. His first film as a cinemtographer was P Chandrakumar's Manasiloru Mayil in 1977.
Filmmakers Sibi Malayil and Siddique termed the death of Anandakuttan as a big loss to the Malayalam film industry. They said that his ability to grasp the mind of film director and move the camera accordingly had made the job of film directors easy.
Published: Sun 14 Feb 2016, 11:00 PM
Updated: Mon 15 Feb 2016, 7:37 AM