A League of Eyes

The movie centres in Andhra Pradesh open their arms to any film. They have the second largest film going audiences in India, after Hindi centres. They make it a point to go watch a film in the Theatres. They do not believe in piracy and DVD's. No matter what kind of films release, they flock to the Theatres to watch it.

In turn, because they are supportive of this industry, the filmmakers are also able to make films of any kind. They are open to subjects and presentation. This is an industry unlike Tamil Cinema, which has abundant funding in millions. At any given point of time, they can make a movie at any cost.

This is a circle because they are supported by the audiences by theatre viewing. From lavish sets to expensive fight sequences, we have seen it all. But the last few years have brought us a brand new angle for Telugu Cinema in terms of increased costing and for presentation: Cinematographers.

It is a known fact that south cinematographers who worked in Tamil Cinema are sought after by Hindi filmmakers. Yet again, they become the most sought after and are being signed up for big budgeted Telugu films, where the producers are not sparing any costs to make the film look beautiful.

CINEMATOGRAPHER RATHNAVELU (AKA RANDY) is most famous for his work in the Rajinikanth starrer ENTHIRAN, directed by Shankar in 2010. It was a big leap for this visualizer. Although he had worked with the likes of Vijay and other big stars, Enthiran was a breakthrough film. He has been quoted as saying that he was always appreciated for being quick, and for his lighting, especially for faces.

He is another cinematographer who had his roots in the advertising world and progressed into cinema. Speaking of his Telugu films, he was signed up by director Sukumar for the Mahesh Babu starrer 1 Nenokkadine (aka A1). This film set different standards for the way Telugu films were presented.