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K. Ramachandra Babu
Born	(1947-12-15)15 December 1947 Maduranthakam,Tamil Nadu, India
Died	21 December 2019(2019-12-21) (aged 72)[1]
Nationality	Indian
Alma mater	Loyola College, Chennai FTII
Occupation	Cinematographer
Years active	1971–2019
Spouse	K. Lathika Rani
Relatives	Ravi K. Chandran (brother)
Awards	Kerala State Film Award for Best Cinematography 1976 – Dweep 1978 –Rathinirvedam 1980 –Chamaram 1989 –Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha
Website	www.ramachandrababu.com

K. Ramachandra Babu (15 December 1947 – 21 December 2019)^[2] was an Indiancinematographer of over 125 films, out of which most areMalayalam films. He also worked for films inTamil,Telugu,Hindi,Arabic andEnglish languages.^[3] He served as the cinematographer for several documentaries and advertisement films as well. He was the founder of theIndian Society of Cinematographers (ISC).^{[citation needed]}

Ramachandra Babu was born on 15 December 1947 inMaduranthakam atChengalpattu District,Tamil Nadu, as the eldest son of Malayali parents, Kunjan Pillai and Padmini Amma, both fromAlappuzha,Kerala. After obtaining hisB.Sc. (Chemistry) degree fromLoyola College,Madras in 1966, he went on to join theFilm and Television Institute of India,Pune to study cinematography. In the Institute, he made friends withBalu Mahendra,John Abraham andK.G. George, who would go on to become noted film directors.^[4] He obtained his Diploma in Cinema (Motion Picture Photography) in 1971.

He made his feature film debut in 1971 as a cinematographer even before completing his FTII course, forVidyarthikale Ithile Ithile.^[5] It was also the debut film of director John Abraham and writer Azad. Ramachandra Babu became noted in the industry after he served as the cinematographer forNirmalyam (1973) andSwapnadanam (1976), which were directorial debuts ofM.T. Vasudevan Nair and K.G. George, respectively. All these films were shot inBlack & White.

Ramachandra Babu's firstcolour film (Eastman Color) wasDweepu (1977), directed byRamu Kariat, and it won him his firstKerala State Film Award for Best Cinematography. He went on to win 3 more State Awards forRathinirvedam (1978) andChamaram (1980), directed byBharathan, andOru Vadakkan Veeragadha (1989), directed byHariharan.

He played a prominent role in ushering in the technical advancements in cinematography into Malayalam cinema. The transition from Black & White to colour aside, he served as the cinematographer for the firstCinemaScope film to be shot inSouth India,Alavuddinum Athbutha Vilakkum (1979), directed byI. V. Sasi. Despite featuring major stars likeKamal Haasan,Rajinikanth andJayabharathi, the film was delayed and another CinemaScope filmThacholi Ambu (1978) was released ahead of it, leaving the latter to be considered as the first CinemaScope film in South India.^[5][6] He was the cinematographer of the first film to be released with70 mm film in Malayalam. The film,Padayottam (1982), directed by Jijo Punnoose, was from the production house ofThacholi Ambu,Navodaya.^[7] The film was photographed in CinemaScope format and was converted to 70 mm blow-up prints with 6-track magneticstereo sound during post-production.^[8]

His noted films includeNirmalyam (1973 –National Award For Best Feature Film, directed byM. T. Vasudevan Nair),Swapnadanam (1975 –Kerala State Film Award for Best Film, directed byK. G. George),Bandhanam (1978 – Kerala State Best Film, directed by M. T. Vasudevan Nair),Agraharathil Kazhuthai (1978 – Best Tamil Film – National Award, directed byJohn Abraham),Sandhyakku Virinja Poovu directed byP.G. Viswambharan,Itha Ivide Vare directed byI. V. Sasi),Patita (1980 – Hindi, directed by I. V. Sasi),Yavanika (directed by K. G. George) &Marmaram (directed by Bharathan), both Kerala State Best Film Award – 1982,Padayottam (first Malayalam 70 mm feature film, 1982, directed by Jijo),Pagal Nilavu (1985 – Tamil, directed byMani Rathnam),Oru Vadakkan Veera Gaadha (1989 – Malayalam, directed by Hariharan),Aadhaaram (1992 – Malayalam, directed by George Kithu),Sallapam (1996 – Malayalam, directed by Sunder Das),Ghazal (1993 – Malayalam, directed byKamal),Kanmadam (1998 – Malayalam, directed byLohithadas),Beyond the Soul (English – 2003 – directed byRajiv Anchal) andAl-Boom (Arabic – 2005 – directed by Khaled Abdul Raheem Al-Zadjali).^{[citation needed]}

• Kerala State Film Award for Best Cinematography
  • 1976 –Dweepu
  • 1978 –Rathinirvedam
  • 1980 –Chamaram
  • 1989 –Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha
• Kerala Film Critics Award (1981) : Nidhra
• Kerala Film Critics Award (2009) :Kadaksham^{[citation needed]}

The list of films for which Ramachandra Babu served as the director of cinematography:

^{[citation needed]}

1. Kaadhal Viduthalai (Tamil) – Dir: Jayakumar
2. Puthiya Swarangal (Tamil) – Dir: Vijayan
3. Puthu Mazhathullikal (Malayalam) – Dir: Raghavan
4. Kavaadam (Malayalam) – Dir: K.R.Joshi
5. Professor Dingan (director) - Died during the production^{[citation needed]}

Wikimedia Commons has media related toRamachandra Babu.

• Official website
• Ramachandra Babu atIMDb
• The Hindu: Metro Plus: Tiruchirapalli: Cinema goes haiku
• The Hindu: Friday Review Thiruvananthapuram / Cinema: Waxing lyrical on film
• Official Website of Information and Public Relation Department of Kerala

• 1947 births
• 2019 deaths
• Cinematographers from Kerala
• Malayalam film cinematographers
• Film and Television Institute of India alumni
• Cinematographers from Kanchipuram district
• Loyola College, Chennai alumni
• 20th-century Indian people
• Malayalam film directors
• 21st-century Indian people
• Film directors from Kerala
• 20th-century Indian photographers
• 21st-century Indian photographers
• Cinematographers from Tamil Nadu

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