Nikhil S Praveen

Nikhil S. Praveen is a cinematographer in the Malayalam film industry. He was born on October 3rd, 1991 in Mattakara, a small village in Kottayam, Kerala. He was known for his exceptional and experimental wedding videos. He debuted as a cinematographer with ‘Kuttanad: A Unique Watery Landscape.’ But he gained recognition from the 2017 Jayaraj film ‘Bhayanakam.’ The film was a massive success as it was based on two chapters from Thakazhi’s novel “Kayar” and was set in the 1930s. It earned Nikhil his first National Award for Best Cinematographer at the 65^th National Film Awards in 2018. The news spread like wildfire as he had won the National Award at 25, and that too, for his first full-length feature film.

Nikhil started his education at Mattakara Government High School and completed it at Lakkattoor MGM School. He learned how to work the camera from the Cochin Media School. He was born to Sivan M.D., who is a retired government employee, and Salila, who is a homemaker. He has an elder brother, Akhil, who has also directed a few documentary films.

He got his first big break in the industry with ‘Crossroad-Kodeyshan,’ a short film directed by Pradeep. Praveen has also cranked the camera for the films ‘Kuttanad: Oru Apoorva Marutham Thinai’ and ‘Prakruthi,’ directed by Jayaraj. In addition to these, he has worked in films like ‘Angu Doore Oru Deshathu’ (2018), which was directed by Joshy Mathew, ‘Kadammanitta-Prakruthiyude Padayani Karan’ (2018), directed by Jayaraj, and ‘Thelivu’ (2019), directed by M. A. Noushad. His latest project was the 2021 movie ‘Kaaval,’ which was directed by Nithin Renji Panicker.