Influenced by the work of Kenyan photojournalist Mohamed Amin, Sanu John Varughese chose motion picture photography to tell his stories, making the film camera an extension of his personality. His work has seamlessly transcended language barriers, allowing him to shoot films across Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and his native Malayalam cinema.
Sanu holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Kerala University and a Master of Arts in Communication from Hyderabad Central University (1996). After completing his education, he moved to Bombay and began working with TV18 on BBC shows, Star Plus, MTV, and more. He later assisted renowned cinematographer Ravi K. Chandran in feature films and advertising. In 2003, he made his debut as an independent cinematographer with the film "Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon."
A seasoned cinematographer and member of the Indian Society of Cinematographers (ISC), Sanu has earned acclaim for his work in multiple languages, notably for his cinematography in Kamal Haasan's spy thriller "Vishwaroopam" (2013). His other notable works include "Hasee Toh Phasee" (2014), "Wazir" (2016), "Take Off" (2017), "Badhaai Ho" (2018), "Jersey" (2019), "Lootcase" (2020), and "Malik" (2021).
In addition to his work in films, Sanu has created memorable campaigns for major brands such as Coca-Cola, Cadbury's, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Airtel, and Tata. Some of his notable advertisements include Tanishq's "Diwali" featuring Deepika Padukone, ITC Sunfeast's "Mom's Magic," Tata Salt Flavoritz and more.
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