Priyadarshan: I shared a special bond with KV Anand; I was both a brother and a mentor for him

Veteran director Priyadarshan, who had expressed shock over cinematographer-turned-filmmaker KV Anand's untimely demise, took to his Twitter account on Friday morning to register the same. He tweeted, "Shocked and Saddened to hear the loss of dear K V Anand. Heartfelt condolences."

In a chat with us, he shared a few memories associated with the Ayan director. Priyan said, "I'm yet to come to terms with the news that Anand is no more. With his demise, I have lost another dear brother who worked with me. Jeeva was another talented cinematographer who I introduced, who, too, passed away at such a young age. I did both of my best works with them. Both of them were assisting PC

Sreeram

when I was doing Gopura Vasalile. I wanted PC to crank the camera for

Thenmavin Kombathu

, but he was busy working for Mani Ratnam's film. By then I had worked with Jeeva. I remember PC saying, "I will give you another talented boy, Anand. You can take him." Anand had made history; he won a National Award for cinematography for his debut work. I don't think the feat has been achieved by anyone before and after that. Moreover, it was the first time a National Award was given for a cinemascope film."

He adds that even today, people celebrate the movie and its visuals. "Balu Mahendra had once said to me that he had never seen such pleasing cinematography before. I worked with Anand in more films, in Malayalam and Hindi, apart from many Ad films. There are a few people with whom you share a special bonding; Anand was one such person. He always had so much respect for me as a brother and as a mentor. He wanted me to join the audio event of Kaappaan, but I couldn't attend it. Anand always had a smiling face and was so silent on set that you would never know that a cinematographer was there," Priyan adds.