India, April 29 -- Shaji N Karun began his career in the '70s as a cinematographer trained at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. He would go on to become India's most-awarded filmmaker, a virtuoso cameraman, visionary film czar, film festival innovator and pioneer in inclusiveness in cinema in the country.

As a rookie cameraman, Karun quickly earned the respect of Indian film industry heavyweights with his works in Mumbai and back home in Kerala. "Listen to what that young man says," Hema Malini would tell her directors on the set in Mumbai when the inexperienced FTII graduate used to cause a stir with his strange suggestions on lighting.

Born on January 1, 1952 in the port town of Kollam in southern Kerala, the ce...