Nirav Shah is an esteemed name, in the field of Indian cinematography. He is best known for his works in Bollywood blockbusters “Dhoom,” and “Dhoom 2”, and numerous other Hindi and Tamil hits.
Nirav started off his career with various assignments on short films, music videos, and also television advertisements, and often worked as an assistant cinematographer or as an ancillary to acclaimed cinematographers. Following which, he realized his passion for cinematography and started working independently.
The year 2004 marked Nirav’s debut in feature film cinematography, with the release of “Paisa Vasool,” which featured Manisha Koirala, Sushmita Sen, and Sushant Singh, in lead roles. The movie also marked Manisha Koirala’s debut in the production department. Shah followed his debut with another Hindi film, Intequam. It was his work in the Bollywood hit “Dhoom,” which catapulted Shah’s career into a renowned cinematographer, and a well-known name in the industry.
Nirav was also the recipient of a Star Screen Award nomination in the category of “Best Bollywood Cinematography,” in 2004. Consequently, offers flooded in from the Tamil film industry, and Shah made his Kollywood debut with the 2005 action film “Sandakozhi,” which was directed by N.Linguswamy. In the same year, Tamil movie director Vishnuvardhan offered Shah the chance to work together in “Pattiyal”. The duo collaborated along with music director and composer, Yuvan Shankar Raja, in various projects, and is reckoned as one of the most profitable associations in Tamil cinemas. The trio of ‘Vishnu-Shah-Yuvan’ has worked together in movies such as Arinthum Ariyamalum in 2005, Billa, and Sarvam, in 2007 and 2008, respectively.
Shah received a State Award by the Tamil Nadu Government for Billa. He made a brief return to Bollywood to work on films such as Dhoom 2 and Banaras. Shah received a National Award nomination in cinematography for both movies. He was the recipient of the title of “Best Cinematography for a Bollywood Movie,” for Dhoom 2. In 2007, Shah signed up for Pokkiri, produced by Prabhu Deva, and Oram Po, Pushkar-Gayathri’s debut project. The following year, the well-known film-maker S.Shankar offered Shah to be a part of his mega-budget movie, ‘Enthiran,’ considered to be the former’s masterpiece. Unfortunately, due to prior commitments, Shah had to decline the offer.
Shah also worked with Prabhu Deva in the 2009 Bollywood flick “Wanted,” which was a remake of Pokkiri. Shah has worked in various other movies such as Madrasapattinam, Va, Vaanam, Vettai, Love Failure, Thaandavam, Thalaivaa, Saivam, Kaaviya Thalaivan, Inji Iduppazhagi, Size Zero, Gabbar Is Back, and “Idhu Enna Maayam,” just to name a few of his legion. He is reportedly working on constructing and developing a film studio in Chennai, which is apparently going to be India’s biggest.