Sunil Malik Assistant Director of Photography
Sunil Malik: Life Behind the Lens
When audiences leave a cinema hall, they often remember the performances, the music, or a single unforgettable dialogue. Rarely do they reflect on the craft of the people behind the lens—the ones ensuring that each shot carries meaning, clarity, and rhythm. Among these unsung figures is Sunil Malik, an Assistant Director of Photography (ADOP) whose journey reflects not only professional growth but also the perseverance, precision, and passion required to survive in the film industry.
From his first big opportunity with Action (2019) to his steady presence in Punjabi films like Teeja Punjab, Laung Laachi 2, and Ji Wife Ji, and from the emotional resonance of 777 Charlie to the tense atmospheres of Blackout and Munjya, Malik has left fingerprints on a diverse array of cinematic experiences. Today, with the upcoming Punjabi epic Dulla the Robinhood, his name is quietly emerging as one of the reliable pillars behind contemporary Indian cinematography.
The Day-to-Day Reality of an ADOP
The title “Assistant Director of Photography” doesn’t immediately evoke glamour. Yet, it is a role without which film sets could collapse into chaos. Malik’s job demands an odd balance of creativity and logistics:
Setting up lighting rigs before a director even walks onto set.
Ensuring cameras are correctly aligned, lenses chosen, and angles adjusted.
Communicating between cinematographer, director, and crew so that each frame matches vision with feasibility.
Anticipating problems before they happen—whether it’s a shadow falling wrong, a reflection creeping into a shot, or continuity breaking across scenes.
For Malik, this role has become a calling card: someone directors and cinematographers can rely on, no matter whether the set is in rural Punjab, bustling Mumbai, or the vibrant chaos of a Tamil action film shoot.
Early Grit: Breaking in with Action (2019)
Breaking into the film industry is never easy. Malik’s entry with the Tamil-language thriller Action tested his endurance on sets defined by demanding stunts and rapid shooting schedules. He often recalls the long hours spent under harsh lighting, managing multiple cameras during high-speed chases, and troubleshooting equipment failures in real time. Those days, while grueling, sharpened his instincts—instincts that would later help him adapt seamlessly to other industries.
Punjabi Cinema: Finding Cultural Roots
Punjabi cinema proved to be a turning point. With Teeja Punjab (2021), Malik worked on a film that demanded intimacy, authenticity, and an understanding of Punjab’s cultural pulse. Unlike action-heavy sets, these films required attention to small emotional cues: the play of light in a rustic home, the framing of family conversations, the warmth of rural colors.
Laung Laachi 2 (2022) and Ji Wife Ji (2023) reinforced his place in the Punjabi film fraternity. These films, reliant on humor, music, and everyday realism, allowed Malik to showcase sensitivity in visuals—ensuring that songs glowed with energy while dramatic moments retained depth.
Now, with Dulla the Robinhood, Malik returns to Punjabi cinema in a film of far greater ambition. Mixing folklore with epic storytelling, the film requires a technical hand that can elevate regional cinema into the realm of spectacle. For Malik, it is a chance to bring everything he has learned from different industries back to his cultural roots.
The Leap Across Borders: Kannada and Bollywood Projects
In 777 Charlie (2022), a Kannada film with pan-Indian success, Malik faced a completely different challenge: crafting intimacy between a man and his dog. As an ADOP, he had to think beyond technicalities, ensuring that camera placements and lighting captured genuine emotion. It was a delicate task—balancing visual storytelling with emotional truth.
Bollywood, too, opened doors. Malik’s credits in Munjya (2024) and Blackout (2024) put him in the midst of projects with vastly different tones. Munjya, a supernatural comedy, required creative use of shadows and imaginative camera play. Blackout, meanwhile, demanded relentless tension, where the placement of a single frame could alter the film’s suspense. Add to this the scale of Maharaja and Gandhi 3, and Malik’s adaptability stands out: he can shift from small, intimate sets to sprawling, high-budget productions without losing his grip on precision.
The Human Side of the Job
Behind the technical details lies the human side of Malik’s work. Long hours on set often mean 14-hour days, irregular sleep, and constant problem-solving under pressure. But for him, the reward comes in moments most viewers never notice—when a carefully set light makes an actor’s face glow just right, or when a perfectly timed camera move makes an action scene look seamless.
Colleagues often describe him as calm under pressure, a vital trait in an environment where a single delay can cost lakhs. Malik himself has said that being an ADOP is “like conducting an orchestra where no one sees you, but everyone hears your mistakes if you falter.”
Dulla the Robinhood: Raising the Bar
Among his upcoming projects, Dulla the Robinhood stands as a milestone. Unlike the urban comedies or tight thrillers he has previously worked on, this film calls for expansive visuals: forests, battles, folklore-inspired grandeur. For Malik, it means overseeing camera setups that can transition from sweeping drone shots to close-up character moments—all while ensuring technical reliability across large sets.
The film also symbolizes a broader shift: Punjabi cinema aspiring toward epic storytelling that can resonate not only with Punjabi audiences but also on national and international stages. Malik’s cross-industry expertise positions him as an invaluable contributor to this ambition.
A Technician with a Story
While Sunil Malik may never occupy the poster space reserved for actors and directors, his journey represents something just as essential: the rise of Indian technicians who seamlessly navigate industries. His story is not about stardom but about craft, consistency, and a relentless commitment to detail.
As India’s cinemas continue to blend—Punjabi, Tamil, Kannada, and Hindi overlapping more than ever—technicians like Malik will define how these stories look and feel on screen. And for audiences, whether they know his name or not, his work is already shaping the images they carry home.
Conclusion: Behind Every Frame
Every frame of cinema carries hidden labor. For Sunil Malik, the labor is also a labor of love—a chance to build bridges, to capture emotion, and to bring vision into focus. With Dulla the Robinhood preparing for release, Malik’s story is not just about a filmography but about a philosophy: that great cinema is never the work of one person, but of countless invisible hands behind the lens.