S. Thirunavukarasu (born 21 July 1966), better known mononymously as Tirru, is an Indian cinematographer and screenwriter who has worked in multiple languages across India. Born in Mullukuruchi village, Tirru became interested in photography when he was in college.
Tirru was born on 21 July 1966 in Mullukuruchi village, Namakkal. He became interested in photography while studying science in college. He assisted by his cousin, a dentist by profession, in the latter's passion for nature photography.[1]
Tirru began his career by assisting cinematographer P.C. Sreeram, working on four films during this period.[1][3] Tirru's last project as an assistant was the film Thevar Magan (1992), which caught the attention of Kamal Haasan. This led to Tirru's first project as a cinematographer for Magalir Mattum (1994), directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao and produced by Kamal Haasan.[1]
Srinivasa Rao wasn't used to working with newcomers and had doubts at first but Tirru convinced him with his technical skills in the opening shots.[4] Kamal Haasan's faith in Tirru played a big role during his debut.[4] During the filming of KT Kunjumon's Tamil movie Sakthi in 1997, the shoot was set in Pollachi. In one particular scene featuring charging wild elephants, Tirru and his assistant were on a 45-foot-high crane to shoot a scene. Unfortunately, the situation took a dangerous turn as still photographer Rajesh recounts, "Somehow, the mahouts lost control of the elephants, and they came charging towards the crane. We knew that if they hit the crane, we would fall to our deaths." to Cinema Express.[5]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2023)
Post national award (2018–present)
In 2018, Karthik Subbaraj reached out to Tirru for the silent film Mercury as he wanted an experienced cinematographer capable of conveying a narrative without relying on dialogue. They worked on the pre-production planning for three months to address the challenges posed by the film's silent nature and unconventional genre.[8][9]
In 2019, Tirru and Karthik Subbaraj collaborated again on the action-drama film Petta starring Rajinikanth.[10][11] This was Tirru's first collaboration with Rajinikanth and it was a long-held dream of his as he had missed an opportunity previously to be the cinematographer of Enthiran (2010) directed by Shankar.[12]
![[icon]](File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small}
