Versatile Actor Natty Breaks Mold, Avoids Repetitive Cop Roles

Natty, a cinematographer-turned-acclaimed actor, has had an intriguing career spanning both sides of the camera. As of November 2025, the multifaceted artist is known for his ability to bring variety to his roles, avoiding repetition even in cop characters.

In his recent works, Natty played a grey-shaded cop in Maharaja who eventually proved to be a good human being, while his role in Right was distinctly different. This versatility is a conscious effort to avoid boring himself by repeatedly portraying similar attitudes.

Reflecting on his past as a cinematographer, Natty recalls challenging projects like capturing the 1993 Bombay blasts for Anurag Kashyap's Black Friday and recreating 1960s Calcutta for Parineeta. He believes filmmaking is a collaborative effort, with no individual solely responsible for a project's success.

Natty's upcoming films include the Suriya-starrer Karuppu, where the actor found the lead actor to be supportive of the entire crew, and the colorful Idhayam Murali. The artist remains open to good scripts and characters, regardless of language.

One of Natty's most popular works as a cinematographer was Raanjhanaa, which was recently re-released with an AI-altered climax. However, Natty strongly disagrees with this change, stating that the original sad ending is the "soul of the film" and should not be tampered with.