Velraj

Velraj Biography

Velraj is a noted cinematographer and film director who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He has worked as an assistant cinematographer in Bollywood, before starting his independent journey in Bollywood and later in south Indian cinema. Apart from Tamil films, he has done the camera work of a few Malayalam and Kannada films too. Phir Hera Pheri is one of his noticed works as a cinematographer in Bollywood cinema.

In 2014 he marked his directorial debut with Velaiyilla Pattathari which won Edison Award for Best Debut Director and also a nomination at Filmfare Award for Best Director – Tamil category. He also directed 2015 movie, Thangamagan. As a cinematographer, he is best known for Aadukalam which helped him to bag SIIMA Award for Best Cinematographer and also Filmfare awards (Tamil) in the same category. His work for Pollathavan gave him Vijay Award for Best Cinematographer 2007.

His full name is Velrajan. He was born on 21 October 1969 in Thirunagar, Madurai, Tamil Nadu. He was born in the rural village, Koothiyar Kundu. After completing his schooling from his native place, he completed his graduation from Madhurai. His professional career began in the early 2000s, when he worked as an assistant in Bollywood, followed by Tamil movies, where he worked under film director cinematographer Tirru.

As an independent cinematographer he marked his debut with Bollywood film - 23rd March 1931: Shaheed, followed by Supari and Phir Hera Pheri. Later he moved to south Indian films, and earned critical acclamation for his works. Velraj’s cinematography in films - Aadukalam, Polladhavan, Kandhar and Enge-yum Eppothum gave a lasting impression on the audience. In 2014, he marked his directorial debut with Velaiyilla Pattathari (VIP) starring Dhanush. The movie was a blockbuster. Its sequel titled VIP-2 was released in 2017, though he was not a part of it.

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Updated: June 20, 2018