Radhu Karmakar

Radhu Karmakar (1919 - 5 October 1993) was an Indian cinematographer and director in Hindi cinema from the 1940s to 1990s. He worked extensively with director-actor Raj Kapoor on his films and for his R. K. Studio. Starting with Awaara, he shot all of Kapoor's subsequent films for four decades, till his last, Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985).

At the 18th National Film Awards, he won the award for National Film Award for Best Cinematography for Mera Naam Joker. He won the Filmfare Award for Best Cinematographer four times: Shree 420 (1957), Mera Naam Joker (1972), Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1979), and Henna (1992).

Career Karmakar start his film career in Calcutta with Kismat ki Dhani (1945) followed by Milan (1946) directed by Nitin Bose for Bombay Talkies. Though the film didn't perform well at box office, his night sequence photography and high contrast lighting got him acclaim.

Early life Born in Bikrampur, now in Munshiganj District, near present-day Dhaka, Bangladesh in a Bengali Karmakar family of goldsmiths, the profession which did not interest him much apart from his photography. Karmakar married Baani Rai, the daughter of businessman Brojendrolal Rai, and moved to Calcutta. Baani Karmakar was the youngest among her seven siblings. Radhu Karmakar and his family resided in Calcutta until 1951 when he started working with Raj Kapoor in his film Awaara (1951). He worked initially on director Nitin Bose's Milan (1946) soon after Kismat ki Dhani (1945). Raj Kapoor found Karmakar's work commendable when he saw his night sequence photography and high contrast lighting in Milan (1946). Karmakar's family soon moved to Bombay.

Family Wife - Late Mrs Baani Karmakar Sons - Krishna Gopal Karmakar and Brojo Gopal Karmakar Daughters - Sudevi Karmakar, Radha Banerjee, Meera Choudhuri Grandchildren - Shomita Pandey, Rinky Karmakar, Siddharth Karmakar, Shubhankar Banerjee, Gaurang Karmakar, Anuradha Karmakar, Priyanka Choudhuri, Keshub Karmakar, Rudraraj Karmakar Great grand daughter- Dr.Tushita Pandey

Death Karmakar died in a car accident on the Bombay Pune Road while driving back to Bombay. He died on 5 October 1993. At the 42nd National Film Awards of 1995, he was posthumously given a Special Jury Award for Param Vir Chakra and "In appreciation of a lifetime achievement in creating some of the most memorable moments in Indian film history."

His autobiography, Radhu Karmakar: The Painter of Lights, was published posthumously in 2005.

Filmography

Director Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai (1960)

Cinematographer Kismat Ki Dhani (1945) Jwar Bhata (1944) Milan (1946) Naukadubi (1947) Mashal (1950) Samar (1950) Awaara (1951) Jagte Raho (1956) Shree 420 (1955) Sangam (1964) Aman (1967) Sapnon Ka Saudagar (1968) Mera Naam Joker (1970) Be-Imaan (1972) Bobby (1973) Sanyasi (1975) Dhoop Chhaon (1977) Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978) Love Story (1981) Prem Rog (1982) Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985) Adventures of Tarzan (1985) Dance Dance (1987) Commando (1988) Henna (1991) Param Vir Chakra (1995)