Vinod Illampally

Vinod Illampally is a cinematographer of the Malayalam cinema. It is true that cinema is the director’s vision but an audience sees this through the eyes of the cinematographer. Hence, we may term that a cinematographer can also be called as a ‘co-director’. Vinod Illampally had begun his career in cinematography in early 2000. He made his debut as an independent cinematographer in the movie ‘Red Salute’ (2006). The film dealt with liquor issues in the state and the film did not get any warm welcome by the masses.

In 2009, the cinematographer has undertaken another film project ‘Patham Nilayile Theevandi’ directed by Joshy Mathew. In 2011, the cinematographer handled a love story 'Innanu Aa Kalyanam' directed by Rajasenan. In this movie, Rejith Menon, Malavika Wales, and Saranya Mohan were in lead roles. In 2012, the cameraman under the guidance of film director T. K. Rajeev Kumar handled a comedy-drama film that depicted the TV channel atmosphere in urban town.

Vindo Illampally who took  the charge of cinematography in many Malayalam movies had fulfilled the duty of a cinematographer and has realized that the film is always a director’s vision. As a professional cinematographer, he had the wisdom to choose the length of the shot and decide which element within the frame to be retained.

In the year 2012, he handled the cinematography part in two more movies and they are ‘Grandmaster’ and ‘Chattakkari’. While the first film received good reviews the second film ‘Chattakkari’ was not as the remake of the 1974 film of the same name. But Vinod Illampally has shown the competent skills required to handle the vision of the director. One should understand that cinematography is one of the most important elements of the filmmaking process and Vinod Illampally is indeed an extraordinary cinematographer of the  Malayalam cinema.

In 2013, he had films like ‘Pigman’ and ‘Romans’ in his kitty. Some of his most successful movies are 'Chettayees: Lovable Rascals' (2012) and ‘Kanal’ (2015) and ‘Grandmaster’ (2012) in which he handled his camera with wisdom. As a director of photography, Vinod Illampally is indeed a versatile cameraman, who has both creative and technical skills needed for Malayalam cinema.