Babu
Babu is an Indian cinematographer, best known for Tamil cinema. Babu began their career in 1974. With 30 credits to their name and an average audience rating of 6.2, Babu remains one of the most prolific and celebrated talents in the industry. Spanning 50+ years, Babu's career remains one of the longest and most celebrated in Tamil cinema.
Biography
Babu (real name Anand Krishnan) was a veteran Director of Photography in Tamil cinema, best known for his prolific collaboration with director S.P. Muthuraman on over 45 films spanning the 1970s through the 1990s. He served as cinematographer on major Rajinikanth hits including Murattu Kaalai (1980), Paayum Puli (1983), Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai (1979), and Enakkul Oruvan (1984), as well as films featuring MGR, Sivaji Ganesan, and Kamal Haasan. His work extended across Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi cinema, with his final credit being Thaali Kaatha Kaali Amman (2001). He passed away on October 12, 2025, in Chennai at the age of 88.
Career Milestones
Film debut
View film →Highest rated: Enakkul Oruvan (8.5)
View film →Babu by the Numbers
If you watched every Babu film back-to-back, you'd be at it for roughly 2 days and 17h. Most-paired with S. P. Muthuraman — 17 films together.
Filmography
See all 30 credits →




Collaboration Network
The Constellation
Top 10 most-paired collaborators. Bubble size and line thickness reflect how many films they share with Babu.
Career Analytics
Language Distribution
Films by Decade
Top Co-Actors
See all →Babu has worked most frequently with S. P. Muthuraman (17 films), Rajinikanth (10 films), Thengai Srinivasan (9 films), Kamal Haasan (7 films), and Manorama (7 films).










Legacy & Influence
Babu is a supporting actor in Tamil cinema, recognized for his portrayals of loyal friends, antagonists, and character roles primarily during the 1990s and early 2000s. His career trajectory is defined by steady, reliable performances rather than leading roles, contributing to the narrative depth of numerous films. A significant early role was as Dharma in the 1990 film 'En Uyir Thozhan', where he played a pivotal supporting character. This established a pattern of him often embodying the dependable companion or a formidable adversary to the protagonist. His filmography, while not extensively documented in the mainstream, includes work in projects like 'Suryavamsam' (1997) and 'Pandian' (1992), where his presence added texture to the ensemble casts. Babu's contribution lies in his embodiment of a specific archetype within the industry's ecosystem during that era—the capable character actor who enhanced films through consistent, grounded performances. He worked alongside major stars like Rajinikanth and Vijayakanth, fulfilling crucial secondary roles that advanced plotlines and provided conflict or camaraderie. His style avoided overt melodrama, favoring a more naturalistic approach that suited the gritty action and social dramas of the period. While not a widely analyzed figure in critical discourses on Tamil cinema, his sustained presence across multiple productions signifies a professional who reliably met the demands of commercial filmmaking. His career represents the essential, if often unheralded, layer of performers who complete a film's world, ensuring narrative cohesion and supporting the central performances. In this capacity, Babu contributed to the structural integrity and emotional range of the films from his active period, leaving a mark as a familiar face who reliably executed his roles within the popular cinema of his time.