A. Vincent

Aloysius Vincent (14 June 1928 – 25 February 2015) was an Indian cinematographer and director of Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. From the mid-1960s on he directed some 30 movies including the landmark Malayalam films Bhargavi Nilayam and Murappennu. He also won the Filmfare Best Cinematographer Award for Prem Nagar (1974). His second last Malayalam movie was the 1985 3D film Pournami Ravil and the last being in 1986 'Kochu Themmadi'

Biography

Vincent was born in 1928 in Calicut, then part of Madras Presidency.

He was trained under cinematographer Kamal Ghosh and was initially associated with Gemini Studios. He started his career in Tamil cinema and shot to fame with the Sivaji Ganesan-starrer Uthamaputhiran. Vincent teamed up with C. V. Sridhar in his masterpieces such as Kalyana Parisu, Nenjil Or Aalayam, Kaadhalikka Neramillai, Sumaithaangi and Then Nilavu. He then became a freelancer and achieved success in Malayalam and Telugu films. He established himself as one of the leading cinematographers in South India and also earned a name in Hindi films. At a time when the cinematography was in its infancy in Indian cinema, he experimented with the camera angles and placements. He succeeded in bringing in the kind of visuals that were not seen before in the South Indian films. In 2003, Indian Society of Cinematographers (ISC) awarded him an Honorary Membership, along with K. K. Mahajan and V. K. Murthy.