R. Rathnavelu

R. Rathnavelu Biography

R. Rathnavelu is a successful cinematographer associated with south Indian films. He works for Tamil, Telugu and Kannada movies and is best known for the works - Nandha, Vaaranam Aayiram and Enthiran. He is a recipient of Filmfare awards twice – for the movies – Nandha (2001) and Enthiran (2010). Enthiran also helped him to bag Vijay Awards the same year. He is also a recipient of Tamil Nadu state awards for the best cinematographer for 2001 movie – Nandha. The bilingual David, Rajnikanth’s Lingaa, Bagavathi, Sethu, Jayam, Mayavi, Perazhagan, Aruan, Gaalipata, Thirumalai and Vaaranam Aayiram are other noted movies.

A hot favourite of directors, this ace cameraman of south Indian film industry has an enviable track record with 14 out of his first 16 films that include Sethu, Nanda, Arya, Gaalipata, Ethiran and Vaaranam Aayiram becoming hits or blockbusters. Bramhotsavam is his upcoming project that’s slated to release in 2016. Often known for his unconventional choice of films, he is a winner of several prestigious awards including state awards and Filmfare multiple times. He won Cinema Express Award, Pace Award and Film Critics Award for 1999 blockbuster “Sethu”. “Nandha” in the year 2001 bagged him several awards including Filmfare, State awards, Pace Award and Film Critics award. Vaaranam Aayiram earned him a nomination at Vijay awards. He rejected S. Shankar's Sivaji to handle cinematography for Sukumar's Jagadam in 2007.

He was born in Chennai on February 24, 1971 and completed Diploma in Film Technology in cinematography from the Film and Television Institute of Tamil Nadu after graduation. He completed 15 years in the field of cinema. Hi early works “Sethu” and “Nanda” are regarded as path breaking in the art of film making. He also owns more than 1000 television commercials to his credit which include multinational brands like Pepsi, Titan watches, Coco Cola etc.

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Updated: November 16, 2015