K V Anand, cinematographer with the Midas touch

In a career that spanned three-plus decades, his best work is seen in the films of Priyadarshan and Shankar

Even as the Tamil film industry was recovering from the loss of popular comedian Vivekh, it received another jolt with the passing away of K V Anand. The seasoned cinematographer-director suffered a heart attack and passed away on Friday. He was 54.

The who's who of the industry woke up to the shocking news and mourned the death of Anand, who was an ace cameraman in the 2000s. "Unfortunate and extremely shocked to hear the devastating news," music composer Harris Jayaraj, who was a regular collaborator with Anand, posted on Twitter.

Anand, who assisted the legendary P C Sreeram in the Kamal Haasan-starrer 'Thevar Magan' (1992) and Mani Ratnam's 'Thiruda Thiruda' (1993), broke through with the Malayalam blockbuster 'Thenmavin Kombath' (1994), directed by Pridyadarshan.

Apart from beautifully capturing Pollachi, the film's backdrop, Anand's brilliance is seen in the film's hit songs. He deservingly won a National Award for the film.

Anand's second flick was 'Minnaram' (1994), another cult film from Priyadarshan. Anand's visuals of the Fernhills Royal Palace and Nilgiri Hills near Ooty were perfect for the film's emotional tone, especially in the second half.

Having made a mark in his first two films, Anand's career moved to the next level when he worked with Tamil blockbuster filmmaker S Shankar in 'Boys' (2003), 'Mudhalvan' (1999) and 'Sivaji' (2007).

By then, Shankar's penchant for grandness was evident in 'Indian' (1996) and 'Jeans' (1998). His subsequent films too remained visual spectacles. Be it filming the ambitious fight sequences, the jaw-dropping sets and creatively choreographed songs, Anand's talent shone through.

His popular Hindi projects were 'Josh' (2000), 'Nayak' (2001), 'Legend Of Bhagat Singh' (2002) and 'Khakhee' (2004). In fact, he was one of the first Indian cinematographers to use the digital intermediate process in 'Khakee'.

After venturing into direction, he gave three straight hits in 'Kana Kandaen' (2005), 'Ayan' (2009) and 'Ko' (2011). Anand had a liking for action-thrillers which was evident in 'Ayan' and 'Ko'. Despite the logical loopholes, the breezy screenplays and Harris Jayaraj terrific numbers made the films entertaining affairs.

Anand continued to make films with socially conscious themes but they turned out to be disappointing. 'Maattraan' (2012), 'Anegan' (2015), 'Kavan' (2017) and 'Kaappan' (2019) were well-mounted and headlined by an ensemble cast but they failed to connect with the audience. The over-ambitious nature of the plots and the overdose of VFX have to be blamed for the films' subpar quality.

Anand, who gave edge-of-the-seat entertainers initially as a director, will be remembered more for his cinematography. Behind the camera, he was a man with the Midas touch.