Director of Photography · CUMAC Associate Cinematographer AC-286 · Founder, LowLightKing Productions
Two decades in the room before getting behind the camera
I spent nineteen years as a senior commercial leader — telecom, fintech, payments, IT services, consumer electronics. I ran sales teams, managed enterprise accounts, and sat across from marketing heads and brand directors at the table where briefs get written. That career was not a detour from cinematography. It was the education.
When I moved behind the camera, I brought that commercial fluency with me. I understand what a client is trying to say before they finish saying it. I know the difference between a brief that is about the product and a brief that is about the fear of a failed launch. That reading of a room — and a script — is what I offer alongside the craft.
The union credential
I hold membership with CUMAC — the Cinematographers’ Union of Malayalam Cinema — as Associate Cinematographer AC-286. CUMAC is affiliated to FEFKA (Film Employees Federation of Kerala) and AIFEC (All India Film Employees Confederation). It is the formal union credential required to work on Malayalam film industry productions.
That credential is not a membership card. It is an entry point — into union productions, into the formal Malayalam film industry, and into the network of directors and producers who work within it. For independent directors, it signals the standard of craft and professionalism they can expect on set.
Debut: Life of Elsa
My entry into narrative filmmaking was Life of Elsa — a short film I produced and shot. The film premiered simultaneously across 12 streaming platforms and received a public broadcast on AP Malayalam, reaching audiences across Kerala.
Shooting and producing the same project clarified something: the decisions a producer makes and the decisions a DP makes are not separate. Budget, schedule, locations, and casting all land in the frame. Understanding both sides of that table makes for better work on either side of it.
LowLightKing Productions
I founded LowLightKing Productions as the production entity for corporate and brand work — brand films, product demos, employer branding content, and event films for B2B and technology companies in Kochi and across the UAE.
The name comes from the specialisation: low-light cinematography. The Sony FX9 — designed for available-light and low-light work — is the core of the kit. Shooting in difficult light without sacrificing image quality is not a workaround. It is a deliberate creative position.
Based between Dubai and Kochi
I work across two markets — Malayalam cinema and corporate production in Kerala, and brand and commercial work in Dubai and the wider Gulf. The two are not in conflict. The discipline is the same. The grammar of a well-composed frame does not change between a short film and a product launch.
Post-production runs remotely via DaVinci Resolve Cloud Collaboration and Frame.io. Clients in Dubai can review and approve a grade from Kochi. Directors in Kerala can watch a cut from anywhere. The geography is solved.
Camera & grade
Primary cameras: Sony FX9, Sony A7 III — all acquired in S-LOG3 for maximum dynamic range in post. Aerial: DJI Mavic Pro in F-LOG.
Grade suite: DaVinci Resolve with Dehancer and FilmConvert Nitrate for film-emulated finishes.
Full kit: /kit/