MJ Radhakrishnan, noted Malayalam cinematographer, passes away at 60 following cardiac arrest

Well-known Malayalam cinematographer M J Radhakrishnan died in a private hospital on Friday following a heart attack. He is survived by his wife, son Yadu and daughter Neeraja. The 60-year-old cameraman suffered a cardiac arrest at his home and passed away while on his way to the hospital.

Starting his career as a still photographer, Radhakrishnan later worked as an associate of renowned cinematographer-turned-director Shaji N Karun. He has won state awards for his works in Deshadanam (1996), Karunam (1999), Adayalangal (2007), Bioscope (2008), Veetilekkulla Vazhi(2010), Akashathinte Niram (2011) and Kaadu Pookunna Neram (2016). Radhakrishnan has also won awards at international fests – for his work in Bioscope at the South Asian International Film Festival and Papilio Buddha at the Oaxaca Film Fest (2013) among others. Radhakrishnan had won three International awards besides being a seven-time winner of the Kerala State Award for Best Cinematography. His films have been screened at several prominent film festivals around the world including Cannes, Toronto, Chicago, Rhode Island and Rotterdam. One of his works, Marana Simhasanam (English: Throne of Death; French: Le Trone de la mort), won Camra d’Or (Golden Camera Award) in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. Radhakrishnan also worked as a cinematographer for the Hindi film Ek Alag Mausam, directed by KP Sasi in 2003. Radhakrishnan had worked for over 75 feature films and several documentaries and had associated himself with some of the prominent Indian film-makers including Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Murali Nair, Shaji N. Karun, TV Chandran, Dr Biju, Jayaraj and Renjith. The last films that Radhakrishnan worked for are Shaji N Karun’s Olu and Dr Biju’s Veyil Marangal that’s just won an award at the Shanghai International Film Festival, reports T he News Minute. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condoled the death of Radhakrishnan and said that the industry has lost a stalwart. (With inputs from agencies)