VK Murthy: An affair with light and shadow

Ahead of his centenary birth anniversary, young cinematographers get candid about the master who inspired them

V K Murthy needs no introduction, he was one of the finest cinematographers in Indian cinema. His niche techniques have inspired and influenced cinematographers, photographers and filmmakers till date.

Born in Mysuru on November 26, 1923, Venkataramana Krishna Murthy was a master cinematographer known for playing with light and shadow to create exhilarating images in contrast. Some of his best shots can be seen in Pyaasa, Kaagaz Ke Phool and Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam among others. 

He shot India’s first cinemascope film — Kaagaz Ke Phool. Murthy was also one of the very few technicians to receive the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s highest award in the field of cinema. 

Speaking to Showtime, three young cinematographers talk about the master’s techniques and his romance with the camera. 

Timeless and inspiring!

The song Na jao saiyan chhuda ke baiyan from Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam has been a great influence on my work till date. I keep running back to it whenever I’m out of ideas. The shots and compositions differentiate him from others of the time as a brave cinematographer.

Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam

When he started with Guru Dutt, film noir was at its peak in Hollywood studios; and for a cinematographer to get the aesthetics of film noir into the Indian diaspora of melodrama is extremely commendable.

The way he weaved the dark deep shadows and the high contrast lighting in drama was never done before. He is the pioneer of Indian melodramatic cinematography.

I personally try to achieve that kind of excellence because both my previous films Kavaludaari and Sapta Sagaradaache Ello had noir themes in them and they were shot as a tribute to Murthy saab. There has been an unconscious influence of the master on a lot of things I do.

— Advaitha Gurumurthy, Cinematographer (Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu, Kavaludaari),
L V Prasad Film and TV Academy, Chennai alumnus

Master of light and shadow

He understood the idea and the beauty of darkness. The song from Pyaasa — Yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaaye talks about the spirit of the poet not understood by society. It carries forward in a much larger context in Kaagaz Ke Phool. But in a nutshell, within the context of a song, V K Murthy ascends Guru Dutt’s idea of engaging with society in a public space and reimagines it to be a lament of the highest order.

Pyaasa

All of this is happening with a strong usage of cinematic language. His idea of using light, shadow and camera movement within the context of the rhythm of a song works well. All of this is simply done — there is no beautification or trying too hard to make the image look gorgeous.

Guru Dutt happened because of V K Murthy and that applies to the latter as well. It was perhaps one of those rare marriages that happened in Indian cinema. Unfortunately, Dutt couldn’t do much, he died at a young age. Although V K lived much longer, he couldn’t do much after Dutt’s death.

He was completely immersive in black and white tonality and understanding tonality to express the inner-self.

— Vikas Urs, Cinematographer (Pedro, Shivamma), FTII alumnus

Brave and fearless!

V K Murthy was operating at a time when there wasn’t any modern technology that is available to cinematographers today — something as simple as viewing what we’re shooting. Amidst all the limited resources, he was able to create such stunning images in black and white. People usually talk about Guru Dutt but I think he should always be remembered along with V K Murthy. He completes Dutt.

The iconic shot from Kaagaz Ke Phool of the sunlight streaming into the studio space — there are so many stories of how he managed to do that. I think he did it by using a mix of sunlight and mirrors to create a sunbeam.

Using the lights available back then, it’s impossible to create that kind of an effect. It was not a gimmick, that shot served the purpose, it elevated the moment between Shanti (Waheeda Rahman) and Suresh (Guru Dutt). This scene is one the biggest takeaways for me as a cinematographer. 

One of the biggest reasons why I was inspired by cinematographers of the time, especially V K Murthy is the kind of images, frames they were able generate, given the lack of facilities.

— Rohin Raveendran, Cinematographer (Martyrs of Marriage, Paijana), FTII alumnus