Ashok Kumar

Ashok Kumar Aggarwal (22October 2014) was an Indian cinematographer who worked mainly in the South Indian film industry. In a career that spanned nearly four decades, he worked in over 125 feature films in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Hindi languages. Aggarwal was a member of the Indian Society of Cinematographers (ISC).

Born in Allahabad to a Hindi poet, Ashok Kumar obtained a diploma in photography from the Allahabad University. His passion for cinema made him enroll for a course in motion picture photography at the Institute of Film Technology, Adyar, Chennai. Upon graduating from the institute, he made his cinematic debut with the 1969 Malayalam film Janmabhoomi for which he was awarded that year's Kerala State Film Award for Best Cinematography. Subsequently, he won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Cinematography on two occasions: 1973 (Swapnam) and 1977 (Taxi Driver). His association with P. N. Menon in the early 1970s cemented his place in the Malayalam film industry. He also worked for other filmmakers such as Babu Nanthankode, J. D. Thottan, Bharathan, N. Sankaran Nair and Ramu Kariat. He got his break in Tamil cinema with Mahendran's Uthiripookkal (1979). He was associated with Mahendran in most of his films.

Apart from several state government awards, Ashok Kumar was also a recipient of the National Film Award for Best Cinematography. During his career, he also directed ten feature films in Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi. He was married and one of his sons, Akash Aggarwal, works as a cinematographer in Tamil films.

Biography Ashok Kumar was born in Allahabad, North-Western Provinces, British India, to Kedarnath Aggarwal, a Hindi poet. He was passionate about cinema right from his childhood despite his family not being connected to films. After obtaining a diploma in photography from the Allahabad University, he decided to join a film institute to pursue a career in filmmaking. Although his family was initially not supportive of his decision, he was allowed to go to Madras rather than Bombay. He gained an admission at the Institute of Film Technology, (now Film and Television Institute of Tamil Nadu) Adyar, for a course in motion photography. John Sankaramangalam, his teacher at the institute, was its director. However, based on actor Kamal Haasan's suggestion Balu Mahendra was selected for the film. Meanwhile, Mahendran had watched some of Ashok Kumar's Malayalam films and found some of his angles and lighting techniques to be very interesting. The latter accepted the offer this time and made his Tamil cinema debut. For his work in Nenjathai Killathe, he won the National Film Award for Best Cinematography and Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Cinematographer.

During the mid 1980s, Ashok Kumar concentrated ventured into commercial films. He shot K. Bhagyaraj's Darling, Darling, Darling (1982) and Mundhanai Mudichu (1983). He worked in My Dear Kuttichathan (1984), India's first 3D film. He also worked with S. Shankar in Jeans (1998). His Hindi films include Kamagni (1987), Bawandar (2000) and Kehtaa Hai Dil Baar Baar (2002). Bawandar received international acclaim and won the Best Film award in several international film festivals. Ashok Kumar was awarded the V. Shantaram Award for Best Cinematography for the film.

Ashok Kumar served as jury member of the 43rd National Film Awards. Over his film career, his assistants include P. S. Nivas, Suhasini Maniratnam and B. R. Vijayalakshmi. Contemporary cinematographers such as Ramachandra Babu, P. C. Sreeram, Ravi K. Chandran and Venu have also spoken of being inspired by his work.

Awards

National Film Award for Best Cinematography 1980 – Nenjathai Killathe

Kerala State Film Award for Best Cinematography 1969 – Janmabhoomi 1973 – Swapnam 1977 – Taxi Driver (Black and White)

Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Cinematographer 1980 – Nenjathai Killathe 1988 – Andru Peytha Mazhaiyil

Nandi Award for Best Cinematographer 2000 – Sri Sai Mahima

V. Shantaram Awards 2000 – Best Cinematography for Bawandar Khajuraho (2002; Hindi)