Venkatarama Pandit Krishnamurthy, better known by his screen name V.K. Murthy was an Indian cinematographer is best noted for her frequent collaboration with the legendary filmmaker and actor Guru Dutt. A former freedom fighter, Murthy is revered for providing some of the most prominent images in the starkly contrasted black and white and he etched his name in history for shooting India's first cinemascope film, Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959). For his outstanding contribution to the Indian film industry, Murthy was awarded the IIFA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005 and in 2010 he was conferred with the Dada Saheb Phalke Award.

Having started his career as an assistant cinematographer to V. Ratra in the 1951 movie Baazi, which marked Guru Dutt's directorial debut, he made his debut as the lead cinematographer with Guru Dutt's next directorial venture in Jaal (1952). Few of his other notable films include Aar-Paar (1954), Love in Tokyo (1966), Nastik (1983), Kalyug Aur Ramayan (1987), and Deedar (1992). In 2001, the veteran moved to Bangalore from Mumbai to live a retired life and on April 7, 2014, he passed away at his residence in Bangalore due to natural cause.