PC Sreeram
Born	(1956-01-26)26 January 1956 (age 69)[1] Madras,Madras State (nowChennai,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]

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

Sreeram was born on 26 January 1956 inMadras (now Chennai). Sreeram's aspiration towards films grew much during his childhood days.^[3] He was educated at theVidya 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 theMadras Film Institute to pursue a course in cinematography.^[3][4][5] The "Samco" group, which includedKamal 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 niecePreetha 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]

Sreeram received his diploma in motion picture photography from theMadras 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 theIndira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director in 1984.^[1] Following a few commercially unsuccessful releases, he worked withMani Ratnam for the first time inMouna 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 inNayagan (1987). The film went on to win threeNational Film Awards at the35th National Film Awards; Sreeram was awarded that year'sNational Film Award.^[1] He used new techniques in the camera for their next filmAgni Natchathiram and was praised very much for his work. Sreeram shot all of Ratnam's films untilGeethanjali (1989). The film was both critically acclaimed and commercially successful besides winning theNational Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and sevenNandi Awards—including theBest Story andBest Cinematography awards for Ratnam and Sreeram, respectively.

During the early 1990s, Sreeram worked inGopura Vasalile (1991) andThevar Magan (1992).^[4] He made his directorial debut in 1992 withMeera, starringVikram andAishwarya .^[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'sThiruda Thiruda.

Sreeram directed his second filmKuruthipunal (1995), a police story based on theHindi filmDrohkaal (1994). The film was India'sofficial entry to the Oscars in 1996.^[4] It was showcased at theRotterdam International Film Festival under the category "Director in Focus" eight years after its release.^[10] In 2004, he directedVaanam Vasappadum, the first Indian film to make use ofhigh-definition digital technology.^[11][12] The film was screened at theMumbai International Film Festival and the ninthInternational Film Festival of Kerala.^[12] In 2007, Sreeram made his Bollywood debut withR. Balki'sCheeni Kum.^[13] Since then, Sreeram has shot all of Balki's films—Paa (2009),Shamitabh (2015),Ki & Ka (2016) andPad Man (2018).

Sreeram is well known for his longtime association withMani Ratnam,Moulee andKamal Haasan. He received critical acclaim for his work in films such asMouna Ragam,Nayakan,Geetaanjali,Thevar Magan,Thiruda Thiruda andAlaipayuthey.^[14][13] He has mentored some of the prominent cinematographers in the Indian film industry includingJeeva,^[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, andArvind Krishna.^[17][18] In January 2016, Sreeram was elected as the president of South Indian Film Cinematographers Association.^[19]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toP. C. Sreeram.

• Official Website
• P.C. Sreeram atIMDb

• Living people
• Tamil-language film directors
• Tamil film cinematographers
• Malayalam film cinematographers
• Best Cinematography National Film Award winners
• M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute alumni
• Indian Tamil people
• 1956 births
• Film directors from Chennai
• Telugu film cinematographers
• Nandi Award winners
• 20th-century Indian people
• 21st-century Indian people
• 20th-century Indian photographers
• 21st-century Indian photographers
• Cinematographers from Tamil Nadu

• CS1: unfit URL
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from September 2018
• Use Indian English from September 2018
• All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English
• Articles with hCards
• Wikipedia articles needing clarification from June 2022
• Commons category link from Wikidata