Ravi K. Chandran

Ravi K. Chandran became Mani Ratnam's most frequent cinematographer from the 2000s onward — shooting Kannathil Muthamittal, Ayitha Ezhuthu, Yuva, Kadal, Kaatru Veliyidai, both Ponniyin Selvan films, and Thug Life. His visual language bridges the intimate and the epic: equally comfortable with the close-quarters domesticity of a marriage falling apart and the vast Chola-era battle sequences of Ponniyin Selvan. Chandran brought technical precision and a controlled palette that suited Mani Ratnam's increasingly structured visual compositions. Across nearly a decade and nine films, he became the cinematographer who defined the later Mani Ratnam look — polished, deliberate, and always in service of the story's emotional register.