Apurba Kishore Bir (born 1948), also known as A. K. Bir, is an Indian film cinematographer, screenwriter and director. An alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, he worked in various Ad-films and documentaries before making his feature-film debut. He won the National Film Award for Best Cinematography for 27 Down, his debut film. His directional debut Aadi Mimansa won the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration. Bir's other directional ventures Lavanya Preeti and Baaja were bestowed with the National Film Award for Best Children's Film. As of 2014, he has won nine National Film Awards—including three for Best Cinematography—and is one of the directors of National Film Development Corporation of India.
Biography Born in Balikuti village of Odisha, Bir had a great passion for painting. At the insistence of his father, he joined the Film and Television Institute of India with a specialisation in motion-picture cinematography. After passing out of the institute, he worked on short films and documentaries. 27 Down, his debut feature-film as a cinematographer, won him the Best Cinematographer award at the 21st National Film Awards. Nearly 70 percent of the film was shot using a handheld camera. Bir was one of the first-unit cameramen for Richard Attenborough's Gandhi., Archived on 2 September 2025 He won two more awards for "National Film Award for Best Cinematography" for Daasi (1988) and Aadi Mimansa (1991). The latter also marked his directional debut. It won the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration. As a director Known for his work in Parallel Cinema. Bir's films focused on children as two of his films—Lavanya Preeti and Baaja won the National Film Award for Best Children's Film in 1993 and 2002 respectively. The former received the "Best Asian Film" award at the Osaka International Film Festival in addition to an "International Jury's Critic Award" and a screening at the Berlin International Film Festival. Hamari Beti, for which he wrote the screenplay apart from photography and direction, was screened at the competitive section of the "World Film Section" of Chicago International Film Festival in 2006. In 2012, Bir was appointed as one of the directors of the National Film Development Corporation of India. He headed the "Technical Sub-committee" and was the chairman of the feature film jury of the 45th International Film Festival of India in 2014.
Filmography Year Film Language Notes 1973 27 Down Hindi Debut1977 Gharonda Hindi Godhuli KannadaHindi 1978 Ondanondu Kaladalli Kannada Khatta Meetha Hindi 1979 Prem Vivah Hindi Dooriyaan Urdu 1982 Hamari Bahu Alka Hindi Aadat Se Majboor Hindi Screenwriter Gandhi English Part of the first-unit cameramen1983 Rangula Kala Telugu Tum Laut Aao Hindi 1987 Maa Ooru Telugu 1988 Ram Avtar Hindi Daasi Telugu Pestonjee Hindi 1990 Matti Manushulu Telugu 1991 Aadi Mimansa HindiOdia Directorial debut Diksha Lavanya Preeti (also screenwriter and director) 1994 Aranyaka (also screenwriter and director) 1997 Shesha Drushti (also director) 1998 Nandan (also director)2002 Baaja (also screenwriter and director) Shararat 2003 Hari Villu 2005 Sikhar Hamari Beti (also screenwriter and director) 2008 Jianta Bhuta 2010 Huppa Huiyya
Awards
National Film Awards
Best Cinematography 1973: 27 Down 1988: Daasi 1991: Aadi Mimansa
Best Regional Film (Oriya) 1997: Shesha Drushti 1998: Nandan
Best Children's films 1991: Lavanya Preeti 2002: Baaja
Best Film on National Integration 1991: Aadi Mimansa
Other awards and honours 1991 – Aravindan Award for Best First Film of a Director Aadi Mimansa 1993 – International Jury's Critic Award at Udaipur International Film Festival for Lavanya Preeti Jayadeba Award Lavanya Preeti – Best Asian Film award at the Osaka International Film Festival. 2011 – Taranga Cine Awards for Best Cinematography 2013 – Padma Shri
References
External links
AK Bir at CFS India