M.J. Radhakrishnan, one of the finest cinematographers in Malayalam cinema, died of cardiac arrest at the age of 61 at Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.
He won seven State Film Awards – only Mankada Ravi Varma has won as many. In a career that spanned over four decades, he worked in about 70 films. His last release was Olu, directed by Shaji N. Karun.
In Kaliyattam - director Jayaraj’s adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Othello - the night shots were among the highlights. Only a skilled cinematographer could make all those shots of "Theyyam" so natural and capture the emotions on the faces of Manju Warrier, Suresh Gopi and Lal (on his acting debut) so well.
"I don’t think any other cinematographer in our cinema was as adept at shooting natural light as him," said Manoj Pillai, one of the young cinematographers whom Radhakrishnan influenced. "I still remember watching Kaliyattam, while I was learning the job under Santosh Sivan, and getting bowled over. What he did in that film was brilliant, and that I believe was his best work."
Radhakrishnan was admired not just by young cinematographers, but by young directors as well. "I enjoy working with young filmmakers," he had once told this writer.
He was also often the first choice of art-house directors. "He would not only come up with beautiful frames, but he could do it within a small budget," said Pillai. "And he was such a nice human being too, very easy to get along with; that must have been one of the reasons why many young directors wanted to work with him."
The most seasoned and celebrated directors too preferred him. He was the cinematographer for two films directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Naalu Penngunal and Oru Pennum Randaanum.
Some of his finest work can be seen in films like Ottal, Veettilekkulla Vazhi, Desadanam, Kannaki, Thirakkatha and Theerthadanam.