Amal Neerad

Amal joined the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute in 1995. He is a winner of the National Film Awards for best cinematography. After his graduation from the institute he worked as a cinematographer with Ram Gopal Varma's production company for films such as James, Darna Zaroori Hai and Shiva. His debut movie in Malayalam as cinematographer was Black, directed by Ranjith.

In 2007, he made his directorial debut with Big B starring Mammootty and Shereveer Vakil. Even though the movie was an average grosser at the box office, the stylish narrative and technical brilliance that the film possessed apparently gave the movie an iconic stature and cult following. His next film was Sagar Alias Jacky starring Mohanlal, a sequel to the 1987 film Irupatham Noottandu. In 2010, he directed Anwar with Prithviraj in the lead role.

Amal Neerad launched his production company Amal Neerad Productions through the 2012 film Bachelor Party directed by himself. In 2013, he produced the anthology film, 5 Sundarikal. Amal directed the segment Kullante Bharya which starred Dulquer Salmaan and handled camera for the segment Aami, directed by Anwar Rasheed. He directed and co-produced (with Fahad Faasil) the period thriller Iyobinte Pustakam starring Fahadh Faasil, Lal, and Jayasurya in 2014. In 2017, he produced and directed Comrade in America starring Dulquer Salmaan. He later directed Fahadh Faasil starred Varathan in 2018. The movie was jointly produced by Neerad and Fahadh Faasil. Amal joined hands with Anwar Rasheed again as a cinematographer for the movie Trance, starring Fahadh Faasil. Later, he joined Mammootty again after 15 years for the movie Bheeshma Parvam which emerged as one of the biggest hits in Mollywood industry.

Amal Neerad was born in Kollam, Kerala. He attended school and college in Kochi. He was the college union chairman of Maharaja's College, Ernakulam during two consecutive terms, 1992–93 and 1993–94. He married actress Jyothirmayi on 4 April 2015.

On September 2024, In a post on the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council's Jagratha Commission Facebook page, it was claimed that Amal Neerad's blockbuster film Bheeshma Parvam offended Christian sentiments. The KCBC Jagratha Commission alleged that the portrayal of drug use, homosexuality, alcohol, and adultery among key Christian characters was a deliberate attempt to depict them negatively. A formal complaint was also filed against the song "Sthuthi" from the Malayalam film Bougainvillea, directed by Amal Neerad. The complaint said that the song offends religious sentiments by misusing sacred Christian hymns. According to the complainants, the combination of a devotional hymn with modern music is seen as disrespectful and offensive to religious beliefs.