Cinematographer VK Murthy was in a class apart
With the death of renowned cinematographer VK Murthy, the curtains have drawn on the golden age of Hindi cinema. One of the last remaining links with the most representative figure of that time, Gurudutt, has snapped. VK Murthy had worked with the legendary actor-director on all his films, and the classics they produced together have held audiences spellbound for decades. The poetry that Gurudutt wove on-screen and the haunting images that brought him fame would not have been possible without VK Murthy's masterful manoeuvres with the camera and his nuanced play of light and shadow. Indeed, it was VK Murthy's lenses that ensured that Gurudutt's delicate portraits were delivered carefully to the audiences. The best example of this is possibly the picturisation of the song, Waqt ne kiya, kya haseen sitam, in the 1959 classic, Kaagaz ke Phool. VK Murthy had used two mirrors to bounce off the light in a manner that it produced a strong beam within which the tormented lovers were united. It contrasted against the darkness of the studio room and underlined the distance between Gurudutt's ‘Suresh Sinha’, the failing film director, and his estranged muse, Waheeda Rehman's ‘Shanti’, in an unforgettable shot. Now famous with students of cinema and videography as the “beam shot”, it won VK Murthy the prestigious Filmfare award for Best Cinematographer that year. The chiaroscuro effect that gave Gurudutt's films that poignant quality was one of the trademarks of VK Murthy. Of the several examples that come to mind, perhaps the most powerful is the scene from Pyaasa where Gurudutt's character, the cheated poet Vijay, attends his own memorial ceremony. Disillusioned with society, he sings, ...Ye duniya agar mil bhi jaaye toh kya hai, standing against the doorway of a packed auditorium, his arms outstretched. The lighting behind Vijay gives him a halo of sorts and the semblance to Christ's crucifixion is unmistakeable.
Gurudutt's untimely death and the onset of colour films stunted VK Murthy's artistic growth. Even though he continued to work for many years afterwards, mostly with Gurudutt's former assistant Pramod Chakravorty, there was little that could match the masterpieces he created with films such as Kaagaz Ke Phool, Pyaasa and Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam. Still, VK Murthy's cinematography in later productions such as Kamal Amrohi's Pakeezah and Razia Sultan are worthy of mention. He also collaborated with the likes of Shyam Benegal for Bharat Ek Khoj, the Doordarshan tele-serial based on Jawaharlal Nehru's The Discovery of India, and with Govind Nihalani on Tamas, by all accounts one of the most provocative and moving depictions of the Partition era on Indian television. Much later, in 2010, VK Murthy was given the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award (for the year 2008) for his immense contribution to Indian cinema. Till date, he remains the only cinematographer to have received the honour.