P. C. Sreeram

P. C. Sreeram (born 26 January 1956) is an Indian cinematographer and film director who works in Indian films. He is also the president of Qube Cinemas, a digital cinema technology company. He is an alumnus of the Madras Film Institute. Apart from his work as a cinematographer, Sreeram was much appreciated for his directorial venture Kuruthipunal. The film was internationally acclaimed and was submitted by India as its official entry to the Oscars in 1996. Sreeram is known for his association with Bharathan, Mani Ratnam, R Balki, Vikram Kumar, and received critical acclaim for his work in films such as Thevar Magan, Mouna Ragam, Nayakan, Cheeni Kum, Agni Natchathiram, Paa, Geethanjali, Alaipayuthey, I, Pad Man, O Kadhal Kanmani, Thiruda Thiruda, Ishq, and Remo. He has worked as a cinematographer in over 30 films spanning across Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi language, besides directing three films and a few TV commercials in Chennai and Mumbai. He is also one of the founding members of Indian Society of Cinematographers (ISC).

PC Sreeram
Born	(1956-01-26) 26 January 1956 (age 68)[1] Madras, Madras State (now Chennai, Tamil Nadu), India
Other names	P. C, P. C. Sriram, PC Sreeraman
Alma mater	Madras Film Institute
Occupation(s)	Cinematographer, Film Director
Years active	1982–present
Children	2
Relatives	P. R. Sundaram Iyer (grandfather)[2]

Early life and family

Sreeram was born on 26 January 1956 in Madras (now Chennai). Sreeram's aspiration towards films grew much during his childhood days.^[3] He was educated at the Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School, Mylapore, Chennai. As a student he was not interested in studies.^[3] He had a passion for photography and after many years of struggle^{[clarification needed]} he joined the Madras Film Institute to pursue a course in cinematography.^[3][4][5] The "Samco" group, which included Kamal Haasan, C. Rudhraiya, Santhana Bharathi, Radharavi, R. C. Sakthi, Mani Ratnam, and a few others, used to meet at a hotel in Chennai and share their knowledge of cinema and future ambitions of making a perfect film.

His niece Preetha Jayaraman, a cinematographer in the Tamil film industry, was inspired to her calling largely by her uncle's work in the field.^[6] Sreeram's daughter died in 2012, aged 23, after falling from the terrace of a friend's house.^[7]

Career

Sreeram received his diploma in motion picture photography from the Madras Film Institute in 1979,^[8] and made his cinematic debut in the early 1980s.^[1] One of his earlier works, Meendum Oru Kaathal Kathai (1985), won the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director in 1984.^[1] Following a few commercially unsuccessful releases, he worked with Mani Ratnam for the first time in Mouna Ragam (1986).^[9] The film gave a much-needed breakthrough for both of them. Following the film's success, the pair went on to work in Nayagan (1987). The film went on to win three National Film Awards at the 35th National Film Awards; Sreeram was awarded that year's National Film Award.^[1] He used new techniques in the camera for their next film Agni Natchathiram and was praised very much for his work. Sreeram shot all of Ratnam's films until Geethanjali (1989). The film was both critically acclaimed and commercially successful besides winning the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and seven Nandi Awards—including the Best Story and Best Cinematography awards for Ratnam and Sreeram, respectively.

During the early 1990s, Sreeram worked in Gopura Vasalile (1991) and Thevar Magan (1992).^[4] He made his directorial debut in 1992 with Meera, starring Vikram and Aishwarya .^[9] The film had a delayed release and was a poor grosser at the box-office. The following year, he renewed his association with Ratnam in the latter's Thiruda Thiruda.

Sreeram directed his second film Kuruthipunal (1995), a police story based on the Hindi film Drohkaal (1994). The film was India's official entry to the Oscars in 1996.^[4] It was showcased at the Rotterdam International Film Festival under the category "Director in Focus" eight years after its release.^[10] In 2004, he directed Vaanam Vasappadum, the first Indian film to make use of high-definition digital technology.^[11][12] The film was screened at the Mumbai International Film Festival and the ninth International Film Festival of Kerala.^[12] In 2007, Sreeram made his Bollywood debut with R. Balki's Cheeni Kum.^[13] Since then, Sreeram has shot all of Balki's films—Paa (2009), Shamitabh (2015), Ki & Ka (2016) and Pad Man (2018).

Legacy

Sreeram is well known for his longtime association with Mani Ratnam, Moulee and Kamal Haasan. He received critical acclaim for his work in films such as Mouna Ragam, Nayakan, Geetaanjali, Thevar Magan, Thiruda Thiruda and Alaipayuthey.^[14][13] He has mentored some of the prominent cinematographers in the Indian film industry including Jeeva,^[9] M. S. Prabhu, Ramji, Chezhiyan, Fowzia Fathima, Mahesh Muthuswami, Dwaraganath, Arun Vincent, Preetha Jayaraman, K. V. Anand,^[15] Tirru,^[16] Balasubramaniem, K. V. Guhan, Nirav Shah, Sivakumar Vijayan, Tanveer Mir, Vivekanand Santhosham, Sathyan Sooryan, and Arvind Krishna.^[17][18] In January 2016, Sreeram was elected as the president of South Indian Film Cinematographers Association.^[19]

Filmography

As cinematographer

Year	Title	Language	Notes
1981	Vaa Indha Pakkam	Tamil	Debut
1982	Oru Varisu Uruvagiradhu	Tamil
	Nandri, Meendum Varuga	Tamil
1985	Meendum Oru Kaathal Kathai	Tamil
	Koodum Thedi	Malayalam	Debut Malayalam film
	Poove Poochooda Vaa	Tamil
1986	Mouna Ragam	Tamil
	Nee Thana Antha Kuyil	Tamil
1987	Nayakan	Tamil
1988	Sathyaa	Tamil	1 Song
	Agni Natchathiram	Tamil
1989	Apoorva Sagodharargal	Tamil
	Geethanjali	Telugu	Debut Telugu film
1990	Idhaya Thamarai	Tamil
1991	Gopura Vasalile	Tamil
1992	Amaran	Tamil
	Thevar Magan	Tamil
	Meera	Tamil	Directorial debut
1993	Thiruda Thiruda	Tamil
1994	May Madham	Tamil
1995	Subha Sankalpam	Telugu
	Kuruthipunal	Tamil	Also director
1998	Shanti Shanti Shanti	Kannada	Debut Kannada film
1999	Mugam	Tamil
	Kadhalar Dhinam	Tamil
2000	Mugavaree	Tamil
	Alaipayuthey	Tamil
2001	Kushi	Telugu
2004	Vaanam Vasappadum	Tamil	Also director
2005	Kanda Naal Mudhal	Tamil
2006	Varalaru	Tamil	1 song
2007	Cheeni Kum	Hindi	Debut Hindi film
2008	Dhaam Dhoom	Tamil	Partly completed
	Keka	Telugu
2009	13B Yavarum Nalam	Hindi Tamil
	Paa	Hindi
2012	Ishq	Telugu
2015	I	Tamil
	Shamitabh	Hindi
	O Kadhal Kanmani	Tamil
2016	Ki & Ka	Hindi
	Remo	Tamil
2018	Pad Man	Hindi
	Naa... Nuvve	Telugu
	Praana	Malayalam [20]
2020	Psycho	Tamil	Partly completed[21]
	Putham Pudhu Kaalai	Tamil	Segment Avarum Naanum - Avalum Naanum
2021	Navarasa	Tamil	Segment Guitar Kambi Mele Nindru
	Rang De	Telugu
2022	Thank You	Telugu
2023	Lust Stories 2	Hindi	Segment Made For Each Other
2024	Love Me	Telugu

Awards and nominations

Year	Nominated work	Category	Result	Notes
1987	Nayakan	National Film Award for Best Cinematography	Won	[1]
1990	Geethanjali	Nandi Award for Best Cinematographer	Won
1992	Thevar Magan	Cinema Express Award for Best Cameraman	Won
1993	Thiruda Thiruda	Cinema Express Award for Best Cameraman	Won
1999	Kadhalar Dhinam	Dinakaran Award for Best Cinematographer	Won
2000	Alaipayuthey	Filmfare Award for Best Cinematographer - South	Won	[22]
2006	Varalaru	Vijay Award for Best Cinematographer (Special Jury)	Won	[23]
2012	Ishq	CineMAA Award for Best Cinematographer	Won
2012	Ishq	CineMAA Award for Life Time Contribution	Won	[24]
2012	Ishq	SIIMA Award for Best Cinematographer (Telugu)	Nominated

References

1. "35th National Film Awards". International Film Festival of India. p. 41. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
2. S., Muthiah (15 May 2006). "Helping green Madras". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 1 September 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
3. Pain, Paromita (28 February 2004). "Beyond the future". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 30 December 2004. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
4. "P C Sreeram – He can make pictures look real, pretty, stark". Sify. Archived from the original on 28 April 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
5. "P. C. Sriram" (PDF). cameraworking.raqsmediacollective. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
6. "Snap, click, roll". India Today. 6 March 2008. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
7. "Director PC Sreeram's daughter falls to death". Archived from the original on 5 January 2015.
8. Bal, Mieke (2004). Narrative Theory: Interdisciplinarity. Taylor & Francis. p. 323. ISBN 978-0-415-31661-3.
9. Rajitha. "My goal is to be different". Rediff. Archived from the original on 11 March 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
10. Rangarajan, Malathi (30 July 2004). "Award, accolade and much more". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 21 September 2004. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
11. Frederick, Prince (11 February 2004). "Is the future DIGITAL?". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 26 May 2004. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
12. MovieBuzz. "P.C.Sreeram's film at MIFF". Sify. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
13. Ramnath, Nandini. "Sage – whispers Words of wisdom from PC Sreeram". Time Out Bangalore. Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
14. "Cheeni Kum – A sugar free romance" (PDF). Eros International. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 September 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
15. Manmadhan, Prema (30 April 2011). "Zooming in on "trends of life"". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
16. Sangeeta (6 July 2007). "Realistic frames". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 November 2007. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
17. Kamath, Sudhish (15 September 2011). "Zen and the art of light". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
18. "K. T. Balasubramaniem BIOGRAPHY (First look..)". Chennai Patrika. 14 February 2011. Archived from the original on 2 November 2011.
19. M, Suganth (12 January 2016). "PC Sreeram elected president of cinematographers association". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 16 January 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
20. R, Manoj Kumar (20 February 2018). "Nithya Menen's Praana is a one-actor movie made in four languages". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
21. V, Lakshmi (3 September 2018). "Udhayanidhi turns 'psycho' for Mysskin". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 13 January 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
22. "Filmfare - Print Edition". Archived from the original on 6 September 2004. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
23. "Winners: Reliance Mobile Vijay Awards 2006". starboxoffice.com. Archived from the original on 26 July 2008. Retrieved 15 March 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
24. "CineMAA Awards 2013 Winners". Idlebrain.com. 16 June 2013. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2020.

External links

• Official Website
• P.C. Sreeram at IMDb