Ashok Kashyap

Ashok Kashyap is a famous Sandalwood Cinematographer. He was born and grew up in the city of Bengaluru. His father's profession was a Government Doctor. His interest in cinematography originated in his schooling days. Taking the interest forward, he joined the Government Film and Television Institute, Bangalore, and The Film and Television Institute, Pune. He pursued a journalism program at Madurai Kamaraj University. His initial start was through Doordarshan. In his beginner days, he worked in the movie Bhuvana Jhyothi (1994)

Kashyap debuted as a cinematographer through Upendra (1999), starring famous actress Raveena Tandon. He directed several popular movies throughout his filmmaking career, including Shhh! (1993), Karulina Koogu (1993), Super Ranga (2014), Uppi 2 (2015), and Kaafi Thota (2017). One of his latest films is Talaq Talaq Talaq (2021).In 1993, he won the Best Cinematography "Aryabhata" Award for Shhh. He produced the film Ulta Pulta based on Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors. He has also directed a movie called For His Work in Shaapa (2001); he was honoured with the Karnataka State Award for being the best cinematographer. 

During his career, he was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid leukaemia (CML). His treatment went on for 16 years. However, his fellow patients continued to motivate him. He was an active member in FOM patient meetings. In 2022, Kashyap was made Friends of Max's Patient Advocate of the Month. In 2023, the Karnataka government appointed him as the Chairman of the Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy (KCA).