K. V. Anand

Infobox_Celebrity
name = K. V. Anand


birth_date = birth date and age|1966|10|30
birth_place = Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
occupation = Cinematographer & Film director
website =
footnotes =

K. V. Anand (born October 30, 1966) is a cinematographer and movie director in India. He has been a cinematographer for a number of major box office hits in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu. Anand won the National Film Award for Best Cinematography for his debut Malayalam movie, Thenmavin Kombathu, in 1995. He also proved to be a successful director with his critically acclaimed Tamil movie, Kanaa Kanden, released in 2005. His latest project as cinematographer is for India's biggest blockbuster hit movie, , with S. Shankar and Rajinikanth.

Early Life (1966-1987)

K.V. Anand was born on October 30, 1966 in Chennai, India. Anand spent a lot of his early childhood days in Pulicat. Anand did his high school from Chennai, graduated with Bachelors degree in Physics followed by Masters in Visual Communications from Loyola College, Chennai. Anand was an avid mountaineer during his college days and participated in annual trekking expeditions to Himalayas. His exploratory trips to various remote locations in India triggered his passion in photography. Anand participated in inter-collegiate, state and national level photography contests. His dynamic composition, lighting techniques and unique viewpoint of telling a story using visual images earned him numerous photography awards. This early success and recognition motivated him to pursue his career in photography.

Early Career as a Photo Journalist (1988-1994)

Anand worked as a freelance photo journalist for leading newspapers and magazines such as Kalki, India Today, Illustrated Weekly, Aside, Indian Express and other national publications. Within a short period of time, his photos were published in more than 200 magazine covers. Anand continued to freelance in industrial photography, advertisements and cover pages for fictional Tamil novels. This varied experience gave him the freedom to experiment and practice various photographic techniques.

Anand applied for a full-time position as a photo journalist for 'India Today', a leading publication group in India. With his strong portfolio and experience, he failed to get the job offer at India Today. Anand was disappointed and left to Andaman Islands for a month to reflect on his career and life ahead. During this trip, Anand decided it is time to calibrate his career path.

Career as a Cinematographer

Anand met ace cinematographer P. C. Sriram and expressed his interest to work for him as an assistant. Anand was delighted when P.C. Sriram agreed. Anand served as an apprentice for movies such as Gopura Vasalile, Amaran, Meera, Devar Magan, Thiruda Thiruda. Anand learned a lot about movie making while working with P.C. Sriram. Anand got his breakthrough when P.C. Sriram recommended him to Priyadarshan for 'Thenmavin Kombathu'. Anand got the National Award for best cinematography for his excellent work in his debut movie.

Anand's first Tamil film was Kadal Desam followed by his first Hindi film, Josh. Another major landmark movie as cinematographer was Mudalvan which was later dubbed in Telugu and remade in Hindi.

Anand has wielded the camera for 14 films in languages including Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi for notable directors such as Priyadarshan, S. Shankar, Mansoor Khan and Rajkumar Santoshi. He has worked as a cinematographer for more than 50 commercials with leading advertisement agencies in India.

Career as a Director

Directing a movie was the next logical step for Anand after working closely with some of the top notch directors in the history of Indian cinema. Anand's debut film, Kana Kandaen, penned by novelist duo Suba, starring Srikant-Gopika-Prithviraj received good reviews from the media and public.

The Latest Word

After the blockbuster of 'Sivaji', K.V Anand is ready to roll with his next directorial venture 'Ayan'. The movie is produced by AVM with Suriya, Prabhu & Tamanna playing the lead. The movie has completed two schedules in Malaysia, Tanzania and Namibia. Many of its portions will be shot in Chennai as well and will release for Pongal 2009. Vairamuthu writes the lyrics for all the songs with the music by Harris Jeyaraj.

Filmography

As Cinematographer

* ""(Tamil, 2007)
* "Khakee"(Hindi, 2004)
* "Chellamae"(Tamil, 2004)
* "The Legend of Bhagat Singh"(Hindi, 2002)
* "Virumbugiren"(Tamil, 2002)
* ""(Hindi,2001)
* "Josh (film)"(Hindi, 2000)
* "Mudhalvan"(Tamil, 1999)
* "Doli Saja Ke Rakhna"(Hindi, 1998)
* "Nerukku Ner"(Tamil, 1997)
* "Kadhal Desam"(Tamil, 1996)
* "Punya Bhoomi Naa Desam"(Telugu, 1995)
* "Minnaram"(Malayalam, 1994)
* "Thenmavin Kombath"(Malayalam, 1994)

Directorial credits

Awards

* 2008 Filmfare Award for Cinematography (Sivaji)
* Screen Award for Cinematography
* 1995 National Award for Cinematography - (Thenmavin Kombath)

External links

*
* [http://ia.rediff.com/movies/2005/may/16anand.htm Interview in Rediff, 2005]
* [http://www.chennaionline.com/film/Interviews/06kvanand.asp Interview in Chennai Online]
* [http://in.rediff.com/movies/2005/may/16kana.htm Kanaa Kanden Movie Review, 2005]
* [http://www.hinduonnet.com/fr/2005/06/03/stories/2005060300350200.htm Interview in The Hindu, 2005]
* National Award for Best Cinematography
* [http://www.telugucinema.com/c/publish/stars/kvanand_interview.php Interview in TeluguCinema.com, 2007]