Kamal Ghosh (1910–1983; often misspelled in film credits as Kamaal) was an Indian cinematographer and film director. Although a native of

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

, he was active primarily in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

and

Telugu cinema Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, Hy ...

Early life

Kamal Ghosh was the nephew of filmmaker, writer and actor

Debaki Bose Debaki Bose (1898–1971), also known as Debaki Kumar Bose, was an Indian director, writer, and actor who is recognized for his contribution in Hindi as well as Bengali cinema. He was born on 25 November 1898 in Akalposh, (now East Burdwan), Bu ...

. He received training from his uncle, working with New Theaters, Calcutta (now

), in various aspects of film making. It was the lawyer turned filmmaker K. Subramanyam who brought Ghosh to South India.

Career

Ghosh started his career as an assistant cinematographer to Sailen Bose in the film ''

Balayogini ''Balayogini'' ( ''Girl Saint'') is a 1937 Indian film made in Tamil language, Tamil and Telugu language, Telugu languages. It was directed by K. Subramanyam. It is one of the earliest Tamil films to be set in a contemporary social setting and to ...

'' released in 1937. Ghosh worked as the cinematographer in-charge for the Tamil-language

Jupiter Pictures Jupiter Pictures ( ta, ஜுபிடர் பிக்ச்சர்ஸ்) was an Indian feature film production company founded in Coimbatore in 1934 by M. Somasundaram (popularly known as "Jupiter Somu") and S.K. Mohideen. Jupiter Pictur ...

film '' Anaadhai Penn'' (1938), directed by R. Prakash. Ghosh's photography, especially the lighting, was widely praised. Ghosh also worked as a director in three films: the unsuccessful '' Paropakaram'' and '' Rohini'' (both 1953) and the successful ''Manorama'' (1959). Due to his limited success as a director, he dropped that career and continued to work as a cinematographer.

Personal life

Ghosh was married to Suvarna, with whom he had six sons and three daughters. Later in his life, Ghosh was affected by

glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that result in damage to the optic nerve (or retina) and cause vision loss. The most common type is open-angle (wide angle, chronic simple) glaucoma, in which the drainage angle for fluid within the eye rem ...

and died in 1983.

Select filmography

As cinematographer

* ''

'' (1937) – as assistant to Sailen Bose * '' Anaadhai Penn'' (1938) (First film as independent cinematographer) * ''

Bhaktha Chetha ''Bhaktha Chetha'' () is a 1940 Tamil language film directed and produced by K. Subrahmanyam. The film featured Papanasam Sivan as the titular character with G. Subbulakshmi, Kothamangalam Subbu, S. R. Janaki and Master R. Thirumalai playing su ...

'' (1940) * ''

Krishnan Thoothu Krishnan Thoothu also known as Sri Krishnan Thoothu was a film produced by S. M. Letchumanan Chettiyar and Rajagopal Talkies in the year 1940. The film was directed by R. Prakash. This film was known famously since this was the debut Tamil film ...

'' (1940) * '' Harichandra'' (1944 ) * ''

Kacha Devayani ''Kacha Devayani'' is a 1941 Indian Tamil language film produced and directed by K. Subramanyam. The film is based on a love story from Mahabharatha's Aadi parva and in Matsyapuranam and featured Kothamangalam Seenu and T. R. Rajakumari in the ...

'' (1941) * '' Chandralekha'' (1948) * '' Apoorva Sagodharargal'' (1949) * ''

Kaadhal ''Kaadhal'' () is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film based on a true story, directed by Balaji Sakthivel, starring Bharath (in his first film as a main lead actor) and Sandhya. It was produced by S. Shankar and featured music co ...

'' (1952) * '' Prema'' (1952) * ''Paradesi'' (Telugu), ''Poongothai'' (Tamil) (1953) * '' Anarkali (Tamil, Telugu)'' (1955) * '' Amara Deepam'' (1956) * '' Kaalam Maari Pochu'' (1956) * ''

Nalla Theerpu ''Nalla Theerpu'' () is a 1959 Indian Tamil-language legal drama film directed by T. Prakash Rao and written by Murasoli Maran. The film stars Gemini Ganesan and Jamuna. It was released on 9 April 1963, and emerged a success. Plot A man who ...

'' (1959) * ''

Maa Babu ''Maa Babu'' () is a 1960 Indian Telugu-language drama film co-written and directed by T. Prakash Rao. The film stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Savitri, with music composed by T. Chalapathi Rao. It is a remake of the Hindi film ''Chirag Kaha ...

'' (1960) * ''

Kathiruntha Kangal ''Kathiruntha Kangal'' (; ) is a 1962 Indian Tamil-language film directed by T. Prakash Rao. The film stars Savitri and Gemini Ganesan, the former in dual roles. It is a remake of the 1960 Bengali film ''Smrithi Tukku Thak'', which itself was ...

'' (1962) * ''

Babruvahana In the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'', Babruvahana ( sa, बब्रुवाहन) is the son of Arjuna, a Pandava prince, and Chitrangada, the princess of Manalura. Babruvahana was adopted as the heir of Manalura by his maternal grandfath ...

'' (1964) * '' Bobbili Yuddham'' (Telugu) (1964) * '' Oonche Log'' (1965) * ''

Govula Gopanna ''Govula Gopanna'' is a 1968 Indian Telugu-language comedy drama film, produced by Lakshmi Rajyam and Sridhar Rao and directed by C. S. Rao. The film stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Rajasree and Bharathi, with music composed by Ghantasala. It i ...

'' (1968)

As director

* '' Paropakaram'' (1953) * '' Rohini'' (1953) *''Manorama'' (1959)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghosh, Kamal 1910 births 1983 deaths 20th-century Indian film directors 20th-century Indian photographers Cinematographers from West Bengal Film directors from Kolkata Tamil film cinematographers Tamil film directors Telugu film cinematographers