On a visit to London along with Nedumudi Venu a few years ago, Anandakuttan was asked how many movies had he shot. The curious crowd was incredulous when Anandakuttan said he had worked on over a hundred movies. This seemed an improbability to them, unless, of course, he was a still photographer attached to movie crews, Venu recounted later.
Many thought Anandakuttan, fondly called Kuttan, would earn a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records, considering his hectic schedule in those days.
Also read: Cinematographer Anandakuttan passes away
I first met Kuttan when I was working as an assistant director for Navodaya’s ‘Theekadal’. He was aged around 25 then. He was not a cameraman yet. He had just finished his college.
He came to the industry as an assistant to cameraman Ramachandra Babu. As an independent cameraman, he had worked with four generations of actors, from Prem Nazir to Fahadh Faasil. He always excelled by keeping him updated on the latest technological advance. More importantly, he was never the fodder for gossip mills during his lengthy career.
Kuttan has not earned the recognition he deserved despite three decades of active work. He hardly got any challenging films to do. He had mostly worked with directors who based their projects on a solid storyline and strong characters.
Kuttan was recognised by the masters though. From Poovinu Puthiya Poonthennal to Living Together, I have not worked with any other cameraman for my films, except for Manichithrathazhu. Venu was the main cameraman for the elaborate project, while Kuttan and Sunny Joseph handled the second unit.
As we were winding down the final works on the movie, Venu told me that Kuttan had done a better job than him.
These good words gave me the confidence to let Kuttan loose on my next project, Manathe Vellitheru. He was free to use the lights he wanted and to shoot in the way he wanted. He rose to the occasion. The movie disappointed but the camera work was noted by everyone.
Kuttan is a model for the new generation with his discipline, commitment and punctuality. Of particular note was his observation skill. He would know of every development in the set from his position behind the camera. I am still amazed by the relations he kept with each and every person on the set. Those relations were one of the reasons for him to land in so many projects.
A film like Harikrishnans would not have been a reality but for a cameraman like him. He skilfully balanced the presence of two legendary stars in each frame.