Marcus Bartley (22 April 1917 14 March 1993) was an Anglo-Indian

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

known for his works predominantly in

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, ...

along with a few

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

, and

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, na ...

films. He was the cinematographer of all time classics like '' Shavukaru'' (1950), '' Pathala Bhairavi'' (1951), ''

Missamma ''Missamma'' () is a 1955 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy film directed by L. V. Prasad. It was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani on Vijaya Productions banner. The film stars N. T. Rama Rao, Savitri, Akkineni Nageswara Rao and ...

'' (1955), ''

Maya Bazaar ''Mayabazar'' () is a 1957 Indian epic Hindu mythological film directed by K. V. Reddy. It was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani under their banner, Vijaya Productions. The film was shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil languages, ...

'' (1957), '' Gundamma Katha'' (1962), '' Chemmeen'' (1965), '' Ram Aur Shyam'' (1967). He won the National Film Award for Best Cinematography in 1970 for '' Shanti Nilayam''. He also won the Gold Medal at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

for Best Cinematography, becoming the first Indian to win the award.

Early life

Marcus Bartley was born into an Anglo-Indian family of renowned doctors in Yercaud. While at school, Bartley was an amateur photographer.

Career

In 1940, Bartley headed to Bombay and joined ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest s ...

'' as press photographer, and then became a newsreel cameraman for British Movietone under the auspices of ''The Times of India''. Bartley did not have any formal training in photography. He worked hard and learned the craft on the job. Bartley arrived in Madras and joined Pragati Studios. His maiden film was '' Swarga Seema'' in 1945. This film showed his genius at Black and White photography. The movie strengthened the friendship between him and the B. N. Reddy,

K. V. Reddy Kadiri Venkata Reddy (1 July 1912 – 15 September 1972) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who primarily worked in Telugu cinema. He is considered as one of the greatest directors in the history of Telugu cinema. He d ...

, and Nagi Reddi. Successively, Bartley worked in many studios such as National Studios, Newtone Studios and Vauhini Productions. He wielded camera for all the forty odd Vauhini movies including such great hits as '' Yogi Vemana'' (1947), ''

Gunasundari Katha ''Gunasundari Katha'' is a 1949 Indian Telugu language fantasy film produced and directed by K. V. Reddy, starring Sriranjani, Kasturi Siva Rao, Santha Kumari. The script was written by Pingali Nagendra Rao, K. V. Reddy, and Kamalakara Kameswa ...

'' (1949), as well as Vijaya's productions '' Shavukaru'' (1950), '' Pathala Bhairavi'' (1951), '' Pelli Chesi Chudu'' (1952), ''

Chandraharam ''Chandraharam'' is a 1954 Telugu-Tamil bilingual swashbuckler film directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao in his debut. It was produced by Nagi Reddy- Chakrapani under the Vijaya Productions banner. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Savitri and Srira ...

'' (1954), ''

'' (1955), ''

'' (1957), ''

Appu Chesi Pappu Koodu ''Appu Chesi Pappu Koodu'' () is a 1959 Indian Telugu-language comedy drama film directed by L. V. Prasad. The film was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani of Vijaya Productions; the latter co-wrote its script with Prasad and Vempati Sad ...

'' (1958), '' Gundamma Katha'' (1962), ''Sri Rajeswari Vilas Coffee Club'' (1976) etc. Most of the superhits of those times were made with his photographic hand at the camera. His specialty was the shots under the moonlight. Ramu Kariat signed him for the Malayalam film '' Chemmeen'' (1965). The film was released in 1965, to universal critical acclaim. The photography by Bartley was highly praised. Bartley didn't receive the National Award that year as portions of the film had to be completed by another cameraman. Cameraman U Rajagopal who also shot the film later acknowledged that he was only called in to complete patchwork.

Working style

Bartley was known as a perfectionist. He didn’t believe in hierarchies and treated everyone the same. He would work with the screenwriter and director, understanding the screenplay, so he could work on his lighting style. He would work for nights before the commencement of shooting, lighting the set to make it perfect.

Personal life

He spoke fractured

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...

and

and did not understand

. Bartley had long suffered with

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

, but refused to go to a doctor and treated himself. In the final years of his life,

Arriflex The Arri Group () is a German manufacturer of motion picture film equipment. Based in Munich, the company was founded in 1917. It produces professional motion picture cameras, lenses, lighting and post-production equipment. Hermann Simon menti ...

made him their authorised service person and Bartley would spend much time repairing lenses. He was shifted to Vijaya Hospital by Nagi Reddi where he was given personal attention.

Awards

*Recipient of the gold medal at the International Film Festival held at

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The ...

for the movie '' Chemmeen'' in Malayalam in the year 1978. *He won the National Film Award for Best Cinematography in India in 1970 for '' Shanti Nilayam''. *He also won the

Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Cinematographer The Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Cinematographer is given by the state government as part of its annual Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Tamil (Kollywood) films. The list See also * Tamil cinema * Cinema of India References {{Tamil ...

for ''Shanti Nilayam'' in 1970.

Filmography

* ''Zindagi Jeene Ke Liye'' (1984) * ''

Maamaankam ''Maamaankam'' is a 1979 Indian Malayalam-language historical drama film directed and produced by Navodaya Appachan, made under Navodaya Studio. It is based on the medieval Mamankam festival held every 12 years at the banks of river Bharathappu ...

'' (1979) * '' Yehi Hai Zindagi'' (1977) * ''Sri Rajeswari Vilas Coffee Club'' (1976) * ''Chakravakam'' (1974) * '' Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani'' (1970) * '' Shanti Nilayam'' (1969) * '' Saathi'' (1968) * '' Ram Aur Shyam'' (1967) * '' Chemmeen'' (1965) * '' Gundamma Katha'' (1962) * ''

Jagadeka Veeruni Katha ''Jagadeka Veeruni Katha'' () is a 1961 Indian Telugu-language fantasy swashbuckler film, produced and directed by K. V. Reddy under the Vijaya Productions banner. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, B. Saroja Devi with music composed by Pendyala Nages ...

'' (1961) * ''

'' (1958) * '' Mayabazar'' (1957) * ''

'' (1955) * ''

'' (1954) * '' Kalyanam Panni Paar'' (1952) * ''

Pelli Chesi Choodu ''Pelli Chesi Choodu'' () is a 1952 Indian satirical comedy film directed by L. V. Prasad and produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani under their company Vijaya Productions. The film was made simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil, the latter ti ...

'' (1952) * ''

Patala Bhairavi ''Pathala Bhairavi'' () is a 1951 Indian fantasy film directed by K. V. Reddy who co-wrote the film with Pingali and Kamalakara Kameswara Rao. Shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil languages, the film was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chak ...

'' (1951) * '' Shavukaru'' (1950) * ''

'' (1949) * '' Yogi Vemana'' (1947) * ''

Swargaseema ''Swarga Seema'' is a 1945 Telugu-language drama film produced and directed by B. N. Reddy and starring V. Nagayya, B. Jayamma and Bhanumathi. Ghantasala entered film world as a Playback singer for a song of C. H. Narayana Rao and it is al ...

'' (1945)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bartley, Marcus Telugu film cinematographers 1917 births Anglo-Indian people 1993 deaths Best Cinematography National Film Award winners 20th-century Indian photographers Cinematographers from Tamil Nadu Artists from Chennai