S. Saravanan

Shanmugam Saravanan
Born (1972-10-15) 15 October 1972 (age 52)
Other namesSaravanan
Alma materM.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute, Chennai
Occupations
Years active1993 – present
Spouse
(m. 2000)
ChildrenSaai Thejaswathy (b.2002)

Shanmugam Saravanan is an Indian cinematographer and film director who works mainly in the Indian film industry. He is an alumnus of the M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute. He started his career with Poove Unakkaga, a Tamil romantic film starring Vijay and Sangita and was released in the year 1996. He debuted as a director by his directorial venture Silambattam. Saravanan is well known for his association with Directors Vikraman and Suresh Krissna. He has worked as a cinematographer in more than 25 films in Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam.

Early life and career

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The son of poet Ulundurpettai Shanmugham, after completing the Diploma in cinematography from the M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute, Chennai, he assisted senior cinematographer P. Selvakumar in the team of Aabavanan. Later, he made his cinematography debut in the film Amma Ponnu. After watching his work in that film Director Vikraman called and offered him to do cinematography for his next venture titled Pudhiya Mannargal. His work was well appreciated in that movie. He then continued to work with Director Vikraman in the films Poove Unakkaga and Suryavamsam. Both the films were a huge commercial success and was also remade in other Indian Languages.

In 1995, he did a Telugu drama film Stri, directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan.[1][failed verification] The film has garnered two National Film Awards and also showcased in the Indian Panorama section, International Film Festival of India and 2nd Prague International Film Festival.

He then teamed up with director Suresh Krissna and did films like Aahaa..!, Auto Driver, Sangamam.

In 2008, Saravanan made his directorial debut in the film Silambattam,[2] a Tamil action comedy film. The film starred Silambarasan Rajendar in dual roles while Sneha, Sana Khan, Prabhu and Kishore also play lead roles. Yuvan Shankar Raja composed the film's background score and soundtrack. The film was a huge commercial success.[3] The film released on 19 December 2008.

Legacy

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Saravanan has mentored some of the prominent cinematographers in the South Indian film industry, who had all assisted him including Vijay Milton,[4] R. Madhi,[5] Vetri[6] and Manoj Paramahamsa.[7]

Filmography

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As cinematographer

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Year Film Language Director
1993 Amma Ponnu Tamil Arun
1994 Pudhiya Mannargal Tamil Vikraman
1995 Stri Telugu K. S. Sethumadhavan
1996 Poove Unakkaga Tamil Vikraman
Selva Tamil A. Venkatesh
1997 Suryavamsam Tamil Vikraman
Aahaa..! Tamil Suresh Krissna
1998 Aahaa..! Telugu Suresh Krissna
Auto Driver Telugu Suresh Krissna
Oruvan Tamil Suresh Krissna
1999 Sangamam Tamil Suresh Krissna
2000 Vallarasu Tamil N. Maharajan
Maayi Tamil Surya Prakash
2001 Vaanchinathan Tamil Shaji Kailas
Shahjahan Tamil Ravi
2002 Pammal K. Sambandam Tamil Moulee
2003 Priyamana Thozhi Tamil Vikraman
Vishnu Telugu Shaji Kailas
2004 Madurey Tamil R. Madhesh
Arasatchi Tamil N. Maharajan
2005 Thirupaachi Tamil Perarasu
The Tiger Malayalam Shaji Kailas
2006 Thirupathi Tamil Perarasu
Dharmapuri Tamil Perarasu
Smart City Malayalam B. Unnikrishnan
2007 Ali Bhai Malayalam Shaji Kailas
2008 Vaitheeswaran Tamil R.K. Vidhyadharan
2010 Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Malayalam Vayalar Madhavan Kutty
2012 The King & the Commissioner Malayalam Shaji Kailas
2013 Alex Pandian Tamil Suraj
2017 Pakka Tamil S.S. Surya
Dharmayuddhaya Sinhala Cheyyar Ravi

As director

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Year Film Language Actors
2008 Silambattam[8] Tamil Silambarasan, Sneha, Sana Khan, Prabhu, Santhanam, Nedumudi Venu
2024 Sippai[9] Tamil Gautham Karthik, Lakshmi Menon, Vibha Natarajan, Madhu

References

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  1. ^ "'I wanted to become a sanyasi'". rediff movies. 29 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Films directed by S. Saravanan".
  3. ^ Listen to fast-pace 'Silambattam' songs
  4. ^ "All you want to know about #VijayMilton". Filmibeat.com. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  5. ^ "An interview with cinematographer Madhi". Behindwoods.com. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  6. ^ "Vetri (Cinematographer) – Silverscreen.in". Silverscreen.in. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  7. ^ Chowdhary, Y. Sunita (25 August 2015). "Confident technician". The Hindu. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  8. ^ "Silambattam movie review - Behindwoods.com - Silambarasan Sneha Sana Khan Prabhu Santhanam Saravanan Yuvan Shankar Raja Images Gallery Stills". Behindwoods.com. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  9. ^ "Gautham Karthik and Lakshmi Menon's shelved film 'Sippai' resumes after 8 years - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
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