Shaji Kumar, the lens behind Pulimurugan, dies at 57

Shaji Kumar, the cinematographer who shot Pulimurugan, Naran, Odiyan and Thudarum for Mohanlal, died on Tuesday. He was 57.

He was in Alappuzha shooting an upcoming Dileep film when he felt unwell in his hotel room on Saturday night. He told the director, Ullas Krishna, and was taken to a nearby hospital, then moved to a private hospital in Kochi. His condition improved after admission and he was able to speak normally, but it worsened again on Sunday night.

Mohanlal, who worked with him across two decades, called him “a rare genius who could capture the deepest of human emotions through his lens.” In his tribute, the actor wrote: “He stood by me right up until our last film together, Athimanoharam. Our journey together also included memorable films such as Naran, Pulimurugan, Odiyan and Thudarum.” He added that beyond work, the two had shared “a special bond of love and friendship.” Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan called his death a great loss to Malayalam cinema, and the FEFKA Directors’ Union paid tribute to his work.

Born in Thiruvananthapuram, Shaji Kumar trained under veteran cinematographer Vipin Mohan and assisted on several films before he got a camera of his own. He came up in the celluloid era, built a reputation for lighting, colour and framing, and carried those instincts into digital without missing a step. His big, physical action work for Mohanlal is the part most people remember: the tiger hunt of Pulimurugan, and more recently the grim stretch of Thudarum, both now part of the actor’s 115-film streaming festival.

The filmography reaches further than that. He shot Ramaleela, Madhura Raja, Ittymaani: Made in China, Night Drive, Pathonpatham Noottandu, Bandra and Once Upon a Time in Kochi, and worked with Joshiy, Shaji Kailas, V M Vinu, M Padmakumar and Vaishakh before pairing with a younger generation through Tharun Moorthy. His most recent assignments were Athimanoharam, Tharun Moorthy’s second film with Mohanlal after Thudarum, and Suresh Gopi’s Ottakomban.

He had lived in Perumbavoor for several years and is survived by his wife, Smitha, and sons Aryan and Sooryan. His body will lie in state at the Gokulam Convention Centre in Ernakulam from 10 am to 1 pm, and the funeral will be held at his home in Perumbavoor at 7 pm.