Sujith Vaassudev – Malayalam cinematographer known for his association with Prithviraj in movies

Sujith Vaassudev is a cinematographer and film director who works in Malayalam film industry. He has also done camera work for a few Telugu and Tamil films. As a cinematographer, his works for hit movies like Drishyam, Memories, Lucifer, Ayaal and Punyalan Agarbattis are memorable. He also carried the work of Tamil hit Papanasam, remake of Drishyam. Sujith has also directed a couple of Malayalam films – James & Alice (2016) and Autorsha (2018).

Sujith Vaassudev worked as an assistant cameraman during his initial days

Sujith hails from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. He was born in 1973. He is married to noted actress Manju Pillai since year 2000. The couple has one daughter. He started his career as a camera assistant in a studio called Sangeetha Vision. Later he worked as an assistant cameraman under many cameramen.

He started his first independent works for television in 1998

He marked his independent professional journey through television and directed more than 1000 episodes for television for various Malayalam channels. Then he worked as an assistant to Raja Rathinam for a while and got his first break in films through Kerala Cafe in 2009, where he worked for the segment, Lalitham Hiranmayam. 2010 film, Chekavar was his first full-length film. Molly Aunty Rocks! and Mullamottum Munthiricharum were his next releases.

Year 2013 was a turning point of his career

2013 gave him a bunch of hits like Drishyam, Memories, Punyalan Agarbattis and Ayaal, and a state award too. There was no turning back after that. His successful association with Prithviraj also began during this time. He marked his Tamil debut with Papanasam in 2015 and Telugu debut with Miss India in 2020. Khiladi (2022) starring Ravi Teja was another notable project in Telugu, though the movie failed to impress the audience. His work in Bro (2023) starring Sai Dharam Tej and Pawan Kalyan also got noticed.

His association with Prithviraj in movies

He frequently worked with Prithviraj in movies. He moved camera for popular Prithviraj movies like City of God, Anarkali, Molly Aunty Rocks!, 7th Day, Amar Akbar Anthony, Ezra, Memories etc. In fact, he marked his directed debut with James & Alice, where Prithviraj played the male lead. He has made cameo appearance in Prithviraj starrer – Amar Akbar Anthony. In fact, when Prithviraj made his directorial debut through Lucifer in 2019, Sujith handled the camera work. He is associated with Prithviraj’s second directorial venture starring Mohanlal – L2: Empuraan.

Sujith Vaassudev – Some interesting and less-known facts

1. He has made cameo appearance in a few movies like Amar Akbar Anthony and Anveshanam.

2. In 2013 he won Kerala state award for best cinematography for his works Ayaal and Memories.

3. He won Kerala Film Critics Association Award for his directorial debut, James & Alice (2016).

4. His work for Ayaal also gave him a nomination at SIIMA Awards for Best Cinematographer.

5. He was married to popular film and television actress, Manju Pillai, the granddaughter of yesterday’s comedian, S. P. Pillai. It’s the second marriage of both. They got separated in 2024. Manju was earlier married to TV actor Mukundan.

6. He frequently worked with Prithviraj in movies – as a cinematographer, director or actor.