[[File:V K Murthy.jpg|thumb|V. K. Murthy in November 2010.]]
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox person
| name = V. K. Murthy
| image = V_K_Murthy.jpg
| imagesize = 250px
| native_name =
| caption = Murthy in 2010
| birth_name = Venkatarama Pandit Krishnamurthy
| birth_place = [[Mysore]], [[Kingdom of Mysore]], [[British Raj|British India]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1923|11|26}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2014|4|07|1923|11|26}}
| death_place = {{nowrap|[[Bengaluru]], India}}
| nationality = Indian
| occupation = [[Cinematographer]]
| yearsactive = 1951–2001
| known_for =
| awards = [[Dadasaheb Phalke Award]]
}}
'''Venkatarama Pandit Krishnamurthy''' (26 November 1923 – 7 April 2014) known professionally as '''V. K. Murthy''', was an Indian [[cinematographer]].<ref name="h1">{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/20/stories/2010012056181800.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100121155631/http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/20/stories/2010012056181800.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 January 2010|title=Murthy first cinematographer to win Phalke award |last=Khajane |first=Muralidhara |date=20 January 2010|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=22 January 2010}}</ref> Murthy, a one-time violinist and jailed freedom fighter, was [[Guru Dutt]]'s regular cameraman on his movies. He provided some of Indian cinema's most notable images in starkly contrasted black and white. He also shot India's first [[cinemascope]] film, ''[[Kaagaz Ke Phool]]''. For his contribution to film industry, particularly Indian film industry he was awarded the [[International Indian Film Academy|IIFA]] Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. In 2010, he was honoured with the [[Dada Saheb Phalke Award]] for his contributions to [[Indian cinema]].
== Early life ==
'''V. K. Murthy''' ({{Lang-kn|ವಿ. ಕೆ. ಮೂರ್ತಿ}}; 26 November 1923 – 7 April 2014) was an [[India]]n [[cinematographer]]. During his career, he won two [[Filmfare Award]]s in the best cinematographer category. His best known [[movie]]s are ''[[Pyaasa]]'' (1957), ''[[Kaagaz Ke Phool]]'' (1959) and ''[[Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam]]'' (1962). For each of those movies, he won a Filmfare Award. He was born in [[Mysore]], [[Kingdom of Mysore]] and lived in [[Mumbai]] for most of his life.
Murthy was born on 26 November 1923 in [[Mysore]]. He studied at the Lakshmipuram school, where he chose music as his elective subject and learned to play the violin.<ref>{{cite news |title= Poetry in picture |url= http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-fridayreview/poetry-in-picture/article2273121.ece |newspaper= The Hindu |date= 20 July 2007 |access-date= 7 April 2014}}</ref> He obtained his Diploma in Cinematography from Sri Jayachamarajendra Polytechnic (the present [[Government Film and Television Institute]]) in Bangalore in 1946.<ref name="h1"/> As a student, he took part in the [[Indian freedom struggle]] and was jailed in 1943.<ref name="ibnlive" /> Feeling strongly attracted to the visual medium and wishing to pursue a career in the field, he quit his studies and left for [[Bombay]] (now Mumbai).
== Career ==
Murthy died on 7 April 2014 at his home in [[Bangalore]], [[India]]. He was 90 years old.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/ace-cinematographer-v-k-murthy-passes-away/article5882188.ece|title=Ace cinematographer V. K. Murthy passes away|date=7 April 2014|accessdate=7 April 2014|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]}}</ref>
Murthy began his career in films with ''Maharana Prathap''. He worked as an assistant to cinematographer V. Ratra in the 1951 film ''[[Baazi (1951 film)|Baazi]]'' which was [[Guru Dutt]]'s first as a director. Dutt, impressed by Murthy's smooth and fluid captures with the camera, took him on for his next film ''[[Jaal (1952 film)|Jaal]]'' (1952), which was Murthy's first film as a chief cinematographer.<ref>{{cite web |title= V. K. Murthy – Wizard of light |url= http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/zMk3GS2L9kMsek135ObjPO/VK-Murthy--Wizard-of-light.html |website= livemint.com |date= 7 April 2014 |access-date= 7 April 2014}}</ref> Murthy, then became a part of the [[Guru Dutt team]], till the latter's death in 1964.
In 1959 came [[Guru Dutt]]'s'' [[Kaagaz Ke Phool]]'', a film critically acclaimed as one of the director's best. More than anything else, it won many accolades for its cinematography and created unparalleled history in the field. V. K. Murthy, as the cinematographer won widespread praise and received the [[Filmfare Award for Best Cinematographer]]. He repeated the feat with ''[[Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam]]'' winning the award again in 1962. He worked exclusively with Dutt until the director's death. Some of Murthy's best work came in [[Guru Dutt]]'s movies like ''[[Pyaasa]]'', ''Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam'' and ''[[Aar Paar]]''. Following Dutt's death, Murthy worked with [[Kamal Amrohi]] on his masterpiece, ''[[Pakeezah]]'' and ''[[Razia Sultan (film)|Razia Sultan]]''. Post Guru Dutt, he like many of the director's team was not able to give any pinnacle work. In later years, he worked with directors like [[Pramod Chakravarthy]] ([[Naya Zamana (1971 film)|Naya Zamana]], [[Jugnu]]), [[Shyam Benegal]] and [[Govind Nihalani]] ([[Tamas (film)|Tamas]]).
==References==
{{Reflist}}
Murthy was also the cinematographer for one of the most acclaimed Kannada film ''[[Hoovu Hannu]]'', a directorial production of [[Rajendra Singh Babu]] and also appeared in that film in a role. Murthy was also the principal cinematographer of the widely acclaimed television series produced by Doordarshan and directed by [[Shyam Benegal]], ''[[Bharat Ek Khoj]]''.
== External links ==
==Trivia==
{{Commons category}}
* Created some notable film works for the Indian Black and White era films. Created the sun breaking through studio roof shot in [[Kaagaz Ke Phool]] with the use of a pair of ordinary mirrors to get a parallel beam. It won him the [[filmfare award|Filmfare Best Cinematographer Award]] for 1959.
* {{IMDb name|0615444}}
* Was principal cinematographer for the first CinemaScope film in India – [[Kaagaz Ke Phool]]
* While on training stint in London to work on color films worked with the crew of [[The Guns of Navarone (film)|The Guns of Navarone]]
* Got break in Hindi films by doing a chance shot for [[Guru Dutt]] in [[Baazi (1951 film)|Baazi]]. [[Abrar Alvi]] Guru Dutt's key writer also got a break from the same movie, he gave a chance opinion on a scene for Baazi.
According to author and eminent musicologist Rajesh Subramanian, the to-be-famous Cinematographer V K Murthy was initially refused admission to the Sri Jayachamarajendra Polytechnic College in Bangalore, which had started offering a course in film-making, and was offered a seat only after much pleading. The aspirant went on to shoot India's first CinemaScope movie Kaagaz Ke Phool 1959.
==Awards==
{{Bio-stub}}
* [[Filmfare Best Cinematographer Award]] – [[Kaagaz Ke Phool]] (1959)
* [[International Indian Film Academy|IIFA]] Lifetime Achievement Award – Amsterdam, 2005.
* [[Dada Saheb Phalke Award]] for 2008
==Retirement and death==
Aged 80, Murthy moved back to [[Bangalore]] from [[Mumbai]] in 2001 to lead a retired life. He died of natural causes aged 91 on 7 April 2014 at his residence in Bangalore.<ref name="ibnlive">{{cite news |title= 'Kagaz Ke Phool' cinematographer VK Murthy passes away |url= http://ibnlive.in.com/news/kagaz-ke-phool-cinematographer-vk-murthy-passes-away/463324-8-66.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140408224544/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/kagaz-ke-phool-cinematographer-vk-murthy-passes-away/463324-8-66.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= 8 April 2014 |publisher= ibnlive.com |date= 7 April 2014 |access-date= 7 April 2014}}</ref>
==Selected filmography==
# [[Hoovu Hannu]] (1993) (One and only Kannada movie)
# [[Deedar (1992 film)|Deedar]] (1992)
# Khule Aam (1992)
# [[Kalyug Aur Ramayan]] (1987)
# [[Nastik (1983 film)|Nastik]] (1983)
# [[Jugnu]] (1973)
# [[Naya Zamana (1971 film)|Naya Zamana]] (1971)
# [[Suraj (1966 film)|Suraj]] (1966)
# [[Love in Tokyo]] (1966)
# [[Ziddi (1964 film)|Ziddi]] (1964)
# [[Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam]] (1962)
# [[Chaudhvin Ka Chand]] (1960)
# [[Kaagaz Ke Phool]] (1959)
# [[12 O'Clock (film)|12 O'Clock]] (1958)
# [[Pyaasa]] (1957)
# [[C.I.D. (1956 film)|C.I.D.]] (1956)
# [[Mr. & Mrs. '55]] (1955)
# [[Aar-Paar]] (1954)
# [[Jaal (1952 film)|Jaal]] (1952)
# [[Baazi (1951 film)|Baazi]] (1951)
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{commons category|V. K. Murthy}}
*{{IMDb name|0615444}}
* [http://radhatanaya-devanahalli.blogspot.com]
{{Dadasaheb Phalke Award}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murthy, V. K.}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murthy, V. K.}}
[[Category:Filmfare Awards winners]]
[[Category:Artists from Mysore]]
[[Category:1923 births]]
[[Category:1923 births]]
[[Category:2014 deaths]]
[[Category:2014 deaths]]
[[Category:Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipients]]
[[Category:Cinematographers]]
[[Category:Kannada film cinematographers]]
[[Category:Disease-related deaths in India]]
[[Category:Cinematographers from Karnataka]]
[[Category:People from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Indian violinists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian photographers]]
{{simple-Wikipedia}}
[[Category:Recipients of the Rajyotsava Award 2004]]
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