Cinematographer V.K. Murthy
By kamla bhatt • Apr 19th, 2007Category: Bangalore, Bollywood, Featured, India, People
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Cinematographer V.K. Murthy might not ring a bell in many people’s mind for we seldom pay attention to the man behind the camera in Indian films. Ironically, we have all either seen or heard of the films Mr. Murthy was associated with like Kagaz Ke Phool; Sahib, Bibi Aur Ghulam; Pyaasa; and Pakeezah to name a few of his films.
Mr. Murthy was the cinematographer for most of Guru Dutt’s films.
I met with Mr. Murthy at his home in Bangalore and spent a wonderful afternoon talking about his films and Guru Dutt and the Hindi film industry. Mr. Govind Nihalani considers Mr. Murthy as his mentor and spent his initial years working with Murthy saab as he is fondly known by others.
In Part -I of our conversation Mr. Murthy talks about his childhood in Mysore and his passion for films and how he made it to Bombay. Tune back in for Part-II where he talks about his Bombay days and Guru Dutt.
Technorati tags: VK Murthy, Guru Dutt, Govind Nihalani, Hindi Films. Kaagaz Ke Phool, Pyaasa, cinematographer
Kamla Bhatt is the host and producer of an Internet Radio show where listeners can find stories about the new and emerging India and the global Indian community. As a pioneer of 'internet radio' format in India Kamla started her first show News about India, followed by TalkNewsIndia in 2005. In 2006 she premiered her new show: The Kamla Bhatt Show: Life, People and Ideas. 
[...] Here is Part-I of the podcast interview with Mr. Murthy. Technorati tags: VK Murthy, Guru Dutt, Govind Nihalani, Hindi Films. Kaagaz Ke Phool, Pyaasa, cinematographer No comments for Podcast: V.K. Murthy, Cinematographer for Guru Dutt’s Films » [...]
Kamla,
I just downloaded Part 1.
I will wait for Part 2 also.
I would like to listen to both in sequence. The listening pleasure is greater that way.
If your meeting with Mr VK Murthy is already concluded, is there any reason for not uploading both parts ?
Technical problems maybe?
Listening to all the seven parts of the Govind Nihalani podcast in sequence over a weekend was a great experience. I look forward to another great listening expereince after Part 2 is received.
I’m off to Mumbai on a personal matter.I will be back on Monday and catch up. No computer, no internet, no reading blogs and no comments on blogs till then.
Regards
G Vishwanath
[...] Click for the podcast here: Cinematographer V.K. Murthy [...]
Respected Kamlaji,
Got to know kutty uncle from a different angle, yes we call him Kutty uncle, since we are his relatives.
Thanks for the wonderful interview. He is really a genius.
-santhosh
Hello Vishwanath:
Thanks for your nice, long comment. Yes, the reason I split them up is because of the feedback I got from numerous people. It takes a long time to download.
Will upload Part-2 and 3 later on.
Hello Santosh:
Good to see your comment. Glad that you are discovering a different dimension of your Kutty uncle. He was such a pleasure to interview.
Say hello to him from me.
Thanks all for sharing your thoughts and comments.
kamla
Ms.Bhatt,
Thanks for posting this interview. I liked all his work and had never come across any interview of his, either in audio or print. Mr.Murthy is disarmingly candid and has an excellent memory. Please post part2 as well, whenever u find it convenient. Thanks once again.
regards
Ramesh
Auburn Hills, Michigan.
p.s: You might know Ram Ganguly better as the music director of Aag (Raj Kapoor’s first or second movie)
Thanks Ramesh for your wonderful feedback and comment. Yes, the second and possibly a third part to the interview will be posted in the next couple of days.
Thanks also for the info about Mr. Ram Ganguly.
Thanks for listening and supporting the show.
Regards,
kamla
[...] For all those who are waiting to hear Part 2 of Mr. VK Murthy’s interview …that will be up and running tomorrow. I suspect there will be Part 3 to Murthy saab’s interview…so watch out for that too. [...]
[...] For all those who are waiting to hear Part 2 of Mr. VK Murthy’s interview …that will be up and running tomorrow. I suspect there will be Part 3 to Murthy saab’s interview…so watch out for that too. [...]
I must applaud your effort to locate and interview V.K. Murthy. I recently saw
Kaagaz Ke Phool and for first time realized what it is. I’m about 30 and never
knew the golden age of Indian cinema. After seeing the movie I began
researching and found so little on the behind the scene people, V.K being one
of them. What you have done have saved the history for future generations to
come. I’m thankful. I also see nothing available on Abrar Alvi. Forgive my
ignorance, I’m not even sure if he is alive. If he is, I’m sure you would do
another great service to the history of Indian cinema and to future generation
by interviewing him. In any case this podcast deserves an A+.
Akash:
Thanks for your wonderful and encouraging feedback. This is what keeps me going.
It was such a joy to interview Murthy saab, and listen to his stories.
I believe Mr. Abrar Alvi is still alive…and yes, he is on my list of people to interview. Tracking them down is sometimes a challenge. And the next challenge is their puzzlement as to why they should be interviewed…these were not people who were interviewed a lot…so the sudden spotlight on them makes them a bit uncomfortable.
Thanks for listening.
kamla
[...] about jazz musician Rudresh Mahanthappa, google video sensation Ben Rekhi, writer Anita Nair, cinematogrpher V. K. Murthy, the unsung man who filmed Guru Dutt movies for 30 years. Who [...]
Hi Kamla,
landed here through a search for V. K. Murthy.
loved this interview. Great !
Awesome work from you.
Thanks.
will go through other podcasts too.
its very interesting. keep going !
cheers !
Hemashree