Dinesh Baboo

Dinesh Baboo
Born	Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
Occupations	Film director, cinematographer, producer, actor, script-writer
Years active	1984–present
Spouse	Sobhana K K
Awards	1988, 1997 - Karnataka State Film Award

Dinesh Baboo (also known as Dinesh Babu) is an Indian film director, cinematographer, actor and screenwriter who works predominantly in Kannada cinema. In a career spanning five decades he has directed more than 40 films, filmed more than 20 films and been the scriptwriter for 6 films. He is the recipient of several accolades including two Karnataka State Film Awards, two Filmfare Awards South and two Cinema Express Awards.

Baboo has created many critical and commercially successful films, like Suprabhatha, Idu Saadhya, Hendthighelbedi, Amrutha Varshini, Laali, Nishyabda, Abhi, Chitra, Hollywood, Magic Ajji, Neenello Naanalle and Bellary Naga. His 1989 comedy-thriller film Inspector Vikram was an average grosser at the time of release but as over the years attained a "cult" status. He has also been the cinematographer for many commercially successful films, like Paadu Nilave, Ninaive Oru Sangeetham, Dhruvam, Ammayane Sathyam, Commissioner, Pidakkozhi Koovunna Noottandu and The King.

Career

Cinematographer

His career in cinema started as a cinematographer. He stood behind the camera for noted Malayalam film blockbusters like Dhruvam, Ullasa Poonkattu and the 1994 blockbuster Commissioner which was instrumental in raising Suresh Gopi, to stardom. His most successful film as a cinematographer was the Shaji Kailas' 1995 blockbuster The King, which was the highest grossing Malayalam film at the time.

Great talent in cinematography was the springboard that launched him to great success in the world of cinema. This also helped him to have first hand knowledge of every technical aspect of cinema, which a director need not be necessarily familiar with. He also directed a Malayalam film named Mazhavillu starring Kunchacko Boban and Preeti Jhangiani. Although his camera skills were widely appreciated in Mollywood, his ambition took him to the world of Kannada films where he chose to direct rather than handle the camera.

Director

His directorial career in the Kannada film world took off with Suprabhatha, a film with Vishnuvardhan and Suhasini which became a box office hit creating many records and gave a major boost to Baboo's career. His next movie was the hugely successful thriller Idu Saadhya in 1989. The movie, featuring eight stars, was made on a shoestring budget of just 1.5 million INR and shot at a single location within 36 hours, setting a record for the fastest completion of an Indian film. He followed it up with the comedy cop thriller - Inspector Vikram - which was a first of its kind in Kannada cinema at that time. Though an average success at the time of its release, the movie has gained cult following among the viewers over the years. As a director, his craftsmanship has been lauded by columnists and reviewers - especially for his screenplay which revolves around very few locations and for successfully blending the comedy and thriller genre.

Actor

He appeared in front of the camera for the first time as a police officer in the film Accident, directed by Ramesh Aravind.

Filmography

Films

Source:

As cinematographer, writer and director

Year	Film	Language	Credited as			Notes
			Cinematographer	Writer	Director
1983	Bhagavathipuram Railway Gate	Tamil	Y	N	N
1984	Unnai Naan Santhithen		Y	N	N
	Nilavu Suduvathillai		Y	N	N
1985	Udaya Geetham		Y	N	N
	Geethanjali		Y	N	N
1986	Uyire Unakkaga		Y	N	N
	Sathya Jyothi	Kannada	Y	N	N
	Aayiram Pookkal Malarattum	Tamil	Y	N	N
1987	Paadu Nilave		Y	N	N
	Ninaive Oru Sangeetham		Y	N	N
	Manithanin Marupakkam		Y	N	N
	Unakkaagave Vaazhgiren		Y	N	N
	Ananda Aradhanai		Y	Y	Y
1988	En Uyir Kannamma		Y	N	N
	Suprabhatha	Kannada	Y	Y	Y
1989	Idu Saadhya		Y	Y	Y
	Inspector Vikram		Y	Y	Y
	Hendthighelbedi		Y	Y	Y
1990	Papa Kosam	Telugu	Y	Y	Y
	Maheshwara	Kannada	Y	Y	Y
1993	Dhruvam	Malayalam	Y	N	N
	Ammayane Sathyam		Y	N	N
	Chamayam		Y	N	N
	Vasantha Poornima	Kannada	N	Y Story	N
1994	Commissioner	Malayalam	Y	N	N
	Pidakkozhi Koovunna Noottandu		Y	N	N
	Thendral Varum Theru	Tamil	Y	N	N
1995	The King	Malayalam	Y	N	N
	Ullasappoonkattu		Y	N	N
1996	Mahathma		Y	N	N
1997	Bhoopathi		Y	N	N
	Laali	Kannada	N	Y	Y
	Amruthavarshini		Y	Y	Y
1998	Nishyabda		Y	Y	Y
	Hendthigheltini		Y	Y	Y
1999	Premotsava		Y	Y	Y
	Mazhavillu	Malayalam	Y	Y	Y
	Nanenu Madlilla	Kannada	N	Y	Y
2000	Nan Hendthi Chennagidale		N	Y	Y
	Chitte		N	Y	Y
	Deepavali		Y	Y	Y
2001	Chitra		Y	Y Only screenplay	Y
2002	Hollywood		Y	N	Y
	Balagalittu Olage Baa		Y	Y	Y
2003	Abhi		Y	Y	Y
	Panchali		N	Y	Y
2004	Kanakambari		Y	Y	Y
2005	Magic Ajji		Y	Y	Y
	Pandu Ranga Vittala		Y	Y Only screenplay	Y	Story by V. Vijayendra Prasad
2006	Neenello Naanalle		N	Y Only screenplay	Y
2007	Ganesha		Y	Y	Y
2008	Akasha Gange		N	Y	Y
	Neene Neene		Y	N	N
	Mr. Garagasa		Y	Y	Y
	Janumada Gelathi		Y	Y	Y
	Accident		N	N	N	Only actor
2009	Mr. Painter		Y	Y	Y
	Mooru Guttu Ondu Sullu Ondu Nija		Y	Y	Y
	Bellary Naga		Y	Y Only screenplay	Y
2010	School Master		Y	Y	Y
	Eradane Maduve		Y	Y	Y
2011	Mathond Madhuvena		N	Y	Y
	Bhale Mogudu Bhale Pellam	Telugu	Y	Y	Y
	Naanalla	Kannada	N	Y	Y
2012	Ondu Kshanadalli		N	Y	Y
	Golmal Gayathri		Y	Y	Y
	Paper Doni		N	Y Only lyrics	N
2014	Athi Aparoopa		Y	Y	Y
2016	Priyanka		Y	Y	Y
2018	Krishnam	Malayalam	Y	Y Only screenplay	Y	Partially reshot in Telugu as Dear Krishna (2025)
	Preethi Keli Sneha Kaledukollabedi	Kannada	Y	Y	Y
	Nanagista		Y	Y	Y
2019	Hagalu Kanasu		Y	Y	Y
2022	Kasthuri Mahal		Y	Y	Y
TBA	Utthara	Kannada	Y	Y	Y

Television

• Mane Mane Kathe
• Akansha
• Swati Muttu

External links

• IMDB page mainly referring to his film career at IMDb
• Accident (as an actor) at IMDb