Chezhiyan

Chezhiyan ISC
Chezhiyan in 2021
Born1968 or 1969
Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu, India
Died (aged 57)
Tharamani, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
EducationAlagappa Chettiar College
Occupations
Years active1987–2026

Chezhiyan (1968 or 1969 – 10 July 2026) was an Indian filmmaker and director of photography who worked primarily in the Tamil film industry. He received critical acclaim for his work in Kalloori (2007), Paradesi (2013) and To Let (2017).

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 drew and made toys with clay, and his mother was a storyteller and singer. He completed his diploma in civil engineering from Alagappa Chettiar College in Karaikudi. Chezhiyan was also interested in photography from an early age and enjoyed drawing and painting.[1][2]

Career

After completing his civil engineering degree, he began 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 production after 60 days, so 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 was 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 on S. Shankar's production Rettaisuzhi, on V. Gowthaman's Magizhchi and on Seenu Ramasamy's Thenmerku Paruvakaatru, the latter winning 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]

Chezhiyan then worked on the thriller film Sawaari (2016), on Tharai Thappattai (2016) where he teamed up with director Bala for the second time, and the critically acclaimed film Joker (2016).[15][16][17]

He made his directorial debut with To Let,[18][19] 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]

Death

Chezhiyan died after a long illness in Tharamani, on 10 July 2026, at the age of 57.[22]

Other work

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 earned him a two-year fellowship from the Department of Culture to explore the theme of imagery in short stories. He worked as a cinematographer in many documentaries, including A Little Dream (2008), a biographical docu-fiction about former Indian president A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, and a documentary about Tamil writer Jayakanthan.[1][23][24][25]

Filmography

Feature films

YearFilmCinematographerDirectorNotes
2007KallooriGreen tick
2010RettaisuzhiGreen tick
MagizhchiGreen tick
Thenmerku ParuvakaatruGreen tick
2013ParadesiGreen tickEdison 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 ThappattaiGreen tick
SawaariGreen tick
JokerGreen tick
2019To LetGreen tickGreen tick65th National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil
2022Kondraal Paavam Green tick
2026 Mylanji Green tick

Short films and documentaries

  • Thiruvizha (2002)
  • A Little Dream (2008)
  • Ellaigalai Vistharitha Ezhuthu Kalaignan (2011)

References

  1. 1 2 Charukesi (13 February 2014). "Man of many parts". The Hindu. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  2. 1 2 Jyothsna. "CINEMATOGRAPHER CHEZHIYAN INTERVIEW". Behindwoods.com. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  3. 1 2 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. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  9. 1 2 Mythily Ramachandran (23 October 2013). "Tamil film 'Paradesi' wins awards at London film festival". Gulf News. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  10. 1 2 "Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards". Ananda Vikatan. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  11. 1 2 "Annual Edison Awards presented". Sify. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  12. 1 2 "Tamilar Awards 2014: Winners and finalists announced!". ntff.no. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  13. 1 2 "SIIMA AWARDS 2014 winners". SIIMA. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  14. 1 2 "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. ↑ "National Award-winning 'To Let' director R. Chezhiyan passes away". The Times of India. 10 July 2026. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  23. ↑ "Screening of 'a little dream' a docu-film on Dr.APJ.Abdul Kalam". old.thinnai.com. 3 August 2006. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  24. ↑ Sukhpreet Kahlon (21 May 2018). "Housing is a global problem: Filmmaker Chezhiyan Ra on his National Award winning film To Let". cinestaan.com. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  25. ↑ "Awards - Katha". katha.org. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
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