Noted veteran cinematographer dead

Kozhikode : Eminent cinematographer Ramachandra Babu, who wielded camera for over 125 movies, passed away at a hospital here on Saturday, family sources said.

He was 72. Babu was part of the technological advancement made by the Malayalam movie industry and was behind the camera when the industry shifted from black and white to colour.

"He suffered uneasiness and collapsed and was immediately admitted to a hospital here but could not be saved," a family source said.

Babu had won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Cinematography four times for his works starting with his first colour film (Eastman Colour) 'Dweepu' in 1977, directed by Ramu Kariat.

He went on to win three more -'Rathinirvedam' in 1978 and 'Chamaram' in 1980, both directed by Bharathan, and 'Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha' starring Mammootty in 1989 directed by Hariharan.

Babu was the cinematographer of the movie 'Nirmalyam' released in 1973. The film had won the National Award For Best Feature Film. It was directed by M T Vasudevan Nair.