SNS Sastry


SNS Sastry was an Indian cinematographer and documentary filmmaker who was active from the 1950s to 1978. He is a winner of four national awards for Malwa,One Day,I Am 20, and And I Make Short Films.

Career

Sastry earned a diploma in cinematography from the Bengaluru Polytechnic, now the Government Film and Television Institute, Bengaluru.
He joined Films Division India, the state-run film production and distribution unit, as a newsreel cameraman in the early 1950s. Over time, he became a director. For nearly three decades until 1978, Sastry made several documentaries for Films Division. The most notable among these are One Day, I Am Twenty, And I Make Short Films, This Bit of That India, The Burning Sun, Our Indira, and Flashback.
Despite being state-sponsored, Sastry’s films are marked by a subtle criticism of the political, economic and social developments of the time. His works often feature gentle self-criticism, questioning mindsets, and resilient attitudes.

Filmography

As director – documentaries
  • Nagarjunakonda
  • Call of the Kheda
  • The Sons Who Served
  • Malwa
  • A Privilege
  • One Day
  • That Delta – That River
  • NEFA: The Years of Promise
  • Invitation to Enchantment
  • Yet in Him We Trust
  • Parambikulam - Aliyar Project
  • The Sainik Schoolway
  • Jai Jawan
  • I Am Twenty
  • The Capture of Haji Pir Pass
  • And I Make Short Films
  • On the Move
  • Amir Khan
  • We
  • Keep Going
  • Care...A Little More
  • Yes, It's On
  • Mining the White Gold
  • He is Back
  • The Burning Sun
  • Our Indira
  • Raga - I India
  • Raga - II India
  • Portrait of a Prime Minister
  • Flashback
  • Faces - India
  • Somewhere in the Deep Woods
  • Strides
  • Take Off
  • This Bit of That India
  • We Have a Promise to Keep
  • A Decade of Achievement
  • Love in Action
  • Not a Bed of Features
  • Pragati Ke Das Saal
  • The First Leap
  • Naya Daur
  • A Sister for Kittu
As cinematographer - documentaries
  • ''Dr Vishveshawaraya''