Manoj Paramahamsa Appointed President of MGR Film and Television Institute in Taramani

The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday announced the appointment of acclaimed cinematographer Manoj Paramahamsa as the new president of the Tamil Nadu Government MGR Film and Television Institute, located in the Taramani neighborhood of Chennai.

Paramahamsa will take on the leadership and administrative role as the president of the state-run film and television training institute. He is an alumnus of the very same institute in Taramani, where he previously studied cinematography before embarking on his professional career.

The newly appointed president replaces the reputed artist Trotsky Marudu. Marudu had been appointed to the top post at the institute by the previous DMK government in 2024.

Paramahamsa has built a prominent career in the regional cinema landscape, having worked as a cinematographer for 25 films across the Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam film industries. Notably, his portfolio includes working with the incumbent Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on three major feature films: Nanban, Beast, and Leo.

Alongside the leadership change, the state government has also constituted a new selection committee to oversee student enrolment for the bachelor of visual arts courses for the current academic year. These specialized courses at the Taramani institute cover multiple disciplines, including cinematography, audiography, screenplay writing and direction, film editing, animation, and visual effects.

The state government has formed a 10-member committee to manage this enrolment process. The panel comprises several highly regarded personalities from the filmmaking community. Among the members are noted film directors Vetrimaran, Lingusamy, and Perarasu.

In addition to the directors, the selection committee includes cinematographers R. Velrajan and Vijay Milton, as well as film editor Srikar Prasad. The remaining spots on the 10-member committee are filled by experts from various other streams of filmmaking.