Chezhiyan

Chezhiyan is an Indian filmmaker and director of photography who works primarily in the Tamil film industry. He received critical acclaim for his work in Kalloori (2007), Paradesi (2013) and To Let (2017).

Chezhiyan ISC
Born
Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu, India
Alma materAlagappa Chettiar College
OccupationCinematographer, Film director, writer
Years active2007–present

Early life and education

Chezhiyan was born in Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu, where he did his early schooling. His parents were primary school teachers. His father was an artist who used to draw and would make toys with clays, his mother was a storyteller and also a singer. He completed his diploma in civil engineering from Alagappa Chettiar College in Karaikudi. Chezhiyan was also interested in photography right from his early days and was into drawing and painting.[1][2]

Career

After completing his civil engineering degree, he started his career as an apprentice to P. C. Sreeram before establishing himself as a cinematographer.[3] He worked as an assistant director in the film Thambi (2006). The film's cinematographer left the shoots after 60 days and hence the film director Seeman asked him to double up as cinematographer. He then shot the climax and all the songs and worked for the remaining 30 days. His name had featured as "additional cinematographer" in Thambi.[2]

Chezhiyan made his debut as a full-fledged cinematographer with Kalloori (2007). Kalloori opened to critical acclaim in December 2007, with a critic stating that "Chezhian's cinematography is perfection itself, capturing the dustiness of the surrounds and the college accurately".[4][5] He then worked in S. Shankar's production Rettaisuzhi, in V. Gowthaman's Magizhchi and in Seenu Ramasamy's Thenmerku Paruvakaatru, the latter won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil.[6][7][8]

He received critical acclaim for his work in Bala's Paradesi (2013) and went on to win many awards, including the Best Cinematography Award at the 2013 BFI London Film Festival Awards.[9][10][11][12][13][14]

He then worked in the thriller film Sawaari (2016), in Tharai Thappattai (2016), teaming up with director Bala for the second time, and the critically acclaimed film Joker (2016). [15][16][17]

To Let.[18][19]

Chezhiyan made his directorial debut with To Let (2017) and it was produced by his wife Prema under the couple's own production company "La Cinema". The film, inspired by real-life incidents, portrayed the ordeal of a lower-middle-class family hunting for a rented house. At the 65th National Film Awards, it won in the category Best Feature Film in Tamil.[3][20][21]

Other works

Chezhiyan received the Katha award for his short story Harmoniam in 2004. He has also authored a series of books on cinema titled Ulaga Cinema (World Cinema) in Tamil, and the series was published by the Tamil weekly Ananda Vikatan between 2005 and 2007. The recognition got him a Fellowship from the Department of Culture for two years, to explore the theme of Imagery in Short Stories. He has worked as a cinematographer in many documentaries, including A Little Dream (2008), a biographical docu-fiction about the former India President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, and a documentary about the Tamil writer Jayakanthan.[1][22][23][24]

Filmography
Feature films
YearFilmCinematographerDirectorNotes
2007KallooriY
2010RettaisuzhiY
2010MagizhchiY
2010Thenmerku ParuvakaatruY
2013ParadesiYEdison Award for Best Cinematographer[11]
Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards for Best Cinematographer[10]
Norway Tamil Film Festival Best Story Award[12]
BFI London Film Festival[9]
Nominated, SIIMA Award for Best Cinematographer - Tamil[13]
Nominated, Vijay Award for Best Cinematographer[14]
2016Tharai ThappattaiY
2016SawaariY
2016JokerY
2019To LetYY65th National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil
Short films and documentaries
  • Thiruvizha (2002)
  • A Little Dream (2008)
  • Ellaigalai Vistharitha Ezhuthu Kalaignan (2011)

References
  1. Charukesi (13 February 2014). "Man of many parts". The Hindu. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  2. Jyothsna. "CINEMATOGRAPHER CHEZHIYAN INTERVIEW". behindwoods.com. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  3. B. Kolappan (20 November 2017). "Film that portrays the ordeal of house-hunting bags award". The Hindu. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  4. "Kallori Tamil Movie Preview". indiaglitz.com. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  5. Pavithra Srinivasan (7 December 2007). "Review: Kalloori is realistic". Rediff.com. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  6. "'Rettaisuzhi' is bundled with pranks". News18 Tamil Nadu. 6 May 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  7. "Magizchi - Tamil Movie Previews". behindwoods.com. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  8. K. Janaki (13 January 2016). "Cinematographer Chezhiyan Makes Directorial Debut". silverscreen.in. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  9. Mythily Ramachandran (23 October 2013). "Tamil film 'Paradesi' wins awards at London film festival". Gulf News. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  10. "Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards". Ananda Vikatan. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  11. "Annual Edison Awards presented". Sify. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  12. "Tamilar Awards 2014: Winners and finalists announced!". ntff.no. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  13. "SIIMA AWARDS 2014 winners". SIIMA. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  14. "Vijay Awards: Ajith's 'Arrambam', Kamal Haasan, Sivakarthikeyan Bag Awards [Winners List]". International Business Times. 6 July 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  15. Janani Karthik (16 January 2017). "Sawaari is a psycho thriller". The Times of India. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  16. "Tharai Thappattai Preview". indiaglitz.com. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  17. K. Jeshi (20 September 2016). "There is scope for realistic films". The Hindu. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  18. Vaishnavi (27 January 2016). "Studio 9 Suresh becomes a cop!". behindwoods.com. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  19. "Mysskin, RK Suresh to don khaki in his next film". The Indian Express. 11 January 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  20. Anupama Subramanian (14 April 2018). "Chezhian speaks on his award film". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  21. Mythily Ramachandran (18 April 2018). "Tamil film 'To Let' wins accolades". Gulf News. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  22. "Screening of 'a little dream' a docu-film on Dr.APJ.Abdul Kalam". old.thinnai.com. 3 August 2006. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  23. Sukhpreet Kahlon (21 May 2018). "Housing is a global problem: Filmmaker Chezhiyan Ra on his National Award winning film To Let". cinestaan.com. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  24. "Awards - Katha". katha.org. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
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