Noted cinematographer V K Murthy, best remembered for his aesthetic camera work in Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa (1957), Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959) and Sahib, Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), died in Bangalore on Monday morning aged 91. His body was taken from his Jayanagar residence to his old house in Shankarapuram and cremated in the presence of family and close friends in Banashankari. The first technician to be honoured with the Dada Saheb Phalke award in 2008, Murthy was also an amateur stage actor and a freedom fighter. “He was a philosopher, not a technician,” said Kannada filmmaker Girish Kasaravalli. “He brought immense dimension and a contemplative quality to Guru Dutt’s films.” Kasaravalli said Murthy was a humble, encouraging man who spoke highly of good talent and saw the best in people. Born in Mysore, Murthy, who studied cinematography in Bangalore, moved back to the city after a long career spanning Hindi black-and-white films and Shyam Benegal’s mega-serial Bharat Ek Khoj. He also worked in a rare Kannada film, Hoovu Hannu (1993). Murthy celebrated his 90th birthday on November 26, 2013, at his residence with his friends and students from the Shri Jayachamarajendra Institute. He was frail and had a pacemaker implant, but was restless and wanted to work, his colleagues said. Director and cinematographer Govind Nihalani, Murthy’s former assistant who has been in constant touch with him for over two decades and published his biography in Kannada, said, “A few of us got some video cameras and asked him to light up a shot. Suddenly he was full of flourish and his judgement was perfect. He was restless for work even at that age,” Nihalani said. Nihalani and his friends recorded precious footage of Murthy as he emerged from his old house in Shankarapuram and on to the street. “He was my guru and I owe my career to him,” he said, after the funeral. Like the timeless opening scene in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, set in the ruins of a haveli, Murthy’s work remains fresh and evocative to this day. “When we admire Guru Dutt’s movies, we are in fact admiring Murthy’s photography. That someone should have attempted to create such art at the time is amazing,” said writer and playwright Girish Karnad. “Photographers like him gave us images beyond the director’s imagination. They created a tradition of their own,” Karnad added.
