Ramachandra Babu

Biography

Ramachandra Babu (15 December 1947 – 21 December 2019), formally known as K. Ramachandra Babu, was an acclaimed Indian cinematographer who worked predominantly in Malayalam cinema. Over a career spanning nearly five decades, he served as cinematographer on more than 125 films in Malayalam as well as Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Arabic, and English.

Born in Maduranthakam, Tamil Nadu, he graduated in Chemistry from Loyola College, Madras, in 1966 before studying cinematography at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. During his time at FTII, he became friends with future filmmakers including Balu Mahendra, John Abraham, and K. G. George. He began his feature-film career with Vidyarthikale Ithile Ithile in the early 1970s.

Babu photographed several landmark Malayalam films, including Nirmalyam (1973), Swapnadanam (1976), Dweepu (1977), Rathinirvedam (1978), Chamaram (1980), Padayottam (1982), Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha (1989), Akashaganga (1999), and Udayon (2005). His cinematography was noted for its visual sensitivity and technical innovation.

He won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Cinematography four times, for Dweepu, Rathinirvedam, Chamaram, and Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha. He was also one of the founding members of the Indian Society of Cinematographers (ISC).

Babu later moved into filmmaking and was associated with projects including Cineku and Professor Dinkan. He was working on Professor Dinkan when he died. His memoir, Celluloid Swapnadakan, documented his experiences in the film industry.

He died in Kozhikode on 21 December 2019 at the age of 72 after suffering a heart attack. He was married to K. Lathika Rani and was the brother of cinematographer Ravi K. Chandran.