Dev Agarwal is an Indian cinematographer based in Mumbai and an alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. His work spans feature films, advertising, documentaries, music videos, and corporate films, reflecting a rare versatility that allows him to shift effortlessly between realism and stylization.
Known for his evocative visual language, Dev crafts images that balance intimacy with scale, stark realism with lyrical poetry. His cinematography in Citylights—Hansal Mehta’s acclaimed remake of the BAFTA-nominated Metro Manila starring Rajkummar Rao—was widely praised for its deeply human and immersive aesthetic. In advertising, his campaign Shut The Phone Up 3 for Manforce Condoms won two Golds at the Foxglove Awards, a testament to his ability to translate powerful concepts into striking visuals.
Dev’s style is defined by adaptability—whether it is sculpting light to amplify emotional nuance, or orchestrating dynamic frames that mirror the energy of a city, his images carry a signature depth and resonance. His recent work, Tigmanshu Dhulia’s biopic Ghamasaan starring Pratik Gandhi and Arshad Warsi, premiered at the MAMI International Film Festival to rave reviews. His upcoming films include the Telugu feature Vaitarni starring Rashmi Gautam, and Bakra Kriket starring Swanand Kirkire, produced by Harman Baweja.
Dev Agarwal
biography
NEW FILMS
Camilla Jones
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Cinematography REEL
GHAMASAAN
feature film
Tigmanshu Dhulia’s powerful new feature, is both a taut political drama and a meditation on power, justice, and rebellion. Set in the ravines of the Hindi heartland, it follows the volatile duel between an uncompromising IPS officer (Pratik Gandhi) and a charismatic dacoit leader (Arshad Warsi), a clash that blurs the line between law and outlaw. Shot on the Arri Alexa LF with Cooke Anamorphic i/FF lenses, the film’s sweeping frames and evolving colour palette—shifting from earthy realism to fiery intensity and finally to stark desolation—render the story with a rare visual and thematic precision.
TEASER
Shut The Phone Up
Advertising Film
The #ShutThePhoneUp Manforce campaign turns everyday distractions into a playful cautionary tale, showing how smartphones can steal attention from intimate moments. Close-ups and shallow focus capture gestures and expressions, while high-key lighting and playful angles give the film a lively, engaging rhythm.
CITYLIGHTS
feature film
Hansal Mehta’s Citylights, a remake of BAFTA nominated film Metro Manila, frames survival in Mumbai with stark, lyrical restraint. Natural light and practicals shape a world of shadows, sodium glows, and fleeting daylight. Wide lenses stretch cramped interiors into cages, while longer focal lengths isolate fragile figures against the city’s vast indifference.
BOLLYWOOD DIARIES
feature film
Raima Sen’s Imli in Bollywood Diaries is a sex worker from Kolkata’s Sonagachi who clings to the fragile dream of becoming a Bollywood actress, her innocence shining through even as her world closes in on her. Her arc, the most tragic of the three, culminates in heartbreak when her audition tape—made with pure sincerity—leads only to betrayal and ridicule, leaving her trapped in the same cycle of exploitation.
Criminal Justice - Season 1
Web Series
Rucha Inamdar, who plays Avni Sharma (Aditya’s sister), has a deeply affecting birth-giving scene that comes at a crucial point in the narrative. The moment is staged as both intimate and emotionally raw, contrasting the harshness of Aditya’s prison life and courtroom battles with a fleeting sense of new life and continuity.
CITYLIGHTS
feature film
In this scene, Rakhi prepares to go to the dance bar, a moment that captures her quiet anxiety and the weight of necessity as she faces the harsh realities of survival in Mumbai. The earthy, desaturated tones of the interior juxtaposed with hints of artificial brightness outside, along with the measured pacing and close framing, turn an ordinary act of dressing into a poetic study of vulnerability, resilience, and the moral compromises imposed by circumstance.
MY WORK
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BEHIND THE SCENES
Camilla Jones
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