Govind Nihlani pays tribute to cinematographer V K Murthy

Critically acclaimed filmmaker Govind Nihalani remembered legendary cinematographer V K Murthy at IFFI here and said cult films like 'Pyaasa' and 'Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam' were result of his brilliant vision.
Recalling the work of the national award winning cinematographer, who passed away this year in April, Nihalani said classics like 'Pyaasa', 'Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam' emerged perfect on the silver screen due to the brilliant vision of Murthy and Hindi cinema's pioneer filmmaker Guru Dutt.
"Guru Dutt gave a new dimension to his craft, he gave him (Murthy) space and liberty to express himself fully," the 'Ardh Satya' director said during screening of his film 'Remembering V K Murthy' at IFFI today, marking a tribute to the cinematographer.

Murthy, who was also a violinist and freedom fighter, extensively teamed up with Dutt, gave Indian cinema some most notable images in starkly contract black and white.
He also shot India's first cinemascope film Guru Dutt's 'Kaagaz Ke Phool'.
Nihalani said he was impressed by Murthy's courage, experimentation and penchant for 'not the usual' which resulted in the memorable films.

"Murthy was natural and had a perfect sense of lighting which made the director's job very easy," he said.
The cinematographer acknowledged that it was with Murthy's help that he was able to produce acclaimed films like 'Tamas'.
"Murthy had a different philosophy towards cinematic image and it was to create a mood, an emotion and give an experience. It was because of this, Murthy became the pioneer of a style called 'dramatic realism'. It was important to understand and learn this philosophy while training with him," he said.

Nihalani said Murthy used new technology like cinemascope lens and 3X films to create unbelievable shots.