National award-winning cinematographer KV Anand died in Chennai in the early hours of Friday after suffering a heart attack. After marking his presence felt in Kollywood and Mollywood with his magical frames, Anand has also directed a few movies including blockbuster films like Ayan and Ko. His last movie as a director was Kaappan featuring Mohanlal and Suriya in the lead roles.
KV Anand's death: End of an era
KV Anand started his career as a photojournalist, and later he started working with PC Sreeram as an assistant cinematographer. It was PC Sreeram who referred Anand to Priyadarshan for the Mollywood movie Thenmavin Kombathu. The cinematography of Anand in Thenmavin Kombathu is still considered the best in Malayalam film history, for this work, he won the national award for the best cinematographer.
After the success of Thenmavin Kombathu in theaters, KV Anand became a valuable name in Mollywood, and he worked in movies like Minnaram and Chandralekha, both featuring Mohanlal in the lead role.
KV Anand made his Tamil debut as an independent cinematographer with the movie Kadhal Desam, directed by Kathir. He later worked in several blockbuster Tamil films like Mudhalvan, Virumbugiren, Boys, Chellame, and Sivaji. In the meantime, he also worked as a cinematographer in Bollywood movies like Doli Saja Ke Rakhna, Nayak: The Real Hero, and Nayak: The Reak Hero.
Directorial debut and success
It was in 2005 that KV Anand made his directorial debut in Kollywood with the movie Kana Kanden starring Prithviraj Sukumaran, Srikanth, and Gopika in the lead roles. The film received mixed responses from audiences and became a moderate success at the box-office. In 2009, KV Anand delivered a massive hit with Ayan starring Suriya in the lead role. Ayan was followed by another blockbuster Ko that featured Jeeva in the lead role. Some other movies directed by Anand are Maattrraan, Anegan, and Kavan.
