His work in films like Kamal Haasan's Hey! Ram and Shankar's Boys have also been impressive.
Like cinematographer Ravi K Chandran, Cyril also worked with Mani Ratnam on his last release, Kannathil Muthamittal.
He tells Shobha Warrier why working on Yuva and Aayutha Ezhuthu was a "challenge" for him.
The director [Mani Ratnam] had drawn three protagonists from three different backgrounds.
I had to create everything differently for each of these characters.
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The character played by Ajay Devgan [played by Surya in Aayutha Ezhuthu] is a Christian. To create his house, I followed [the arrangement] my own house. I used some of the photographs in my house. The photo of the 'first communion' is very common in a Christian house. You will not find it anywhere else. I placed a lot of plants near the window. The refrigerator [used in the film] is an old Alwyn model.
Siddharth's [played by Vivek Oberoi in Yuva] house is modern with a lot of blue [coloured objects].
On the other hand, Madhavan's [played by Abhishek Bachchan in Yuva] house is rugged. The plastic in the house is rough. The walls are bare.
Shooting in the crowded areas of Kolkata was difficult. I recreated the streets of Kolkata in Chennai. That was a very big challenge.
Unless the work is challenging, we [creative artistes] don't get satisfaction.
Everything about Kolkata had to be correct, including the name boards on the streets. I bought two hand-driven rickshaws from Kolkata and made four more here [in Chennai].
I had to recreate Chennai in Mumbai for the Tamil version [Aayutha Ezhuthu]. We wanted to shoot at the harbour [in Chennai]. We were not given permission. I had to recreate the Chennai harbour in two days.
I do not know if anybody knows this: I recreated Sri Lanka in Kerala for Mani Ratnam's Kannathil Muthamittal.
We also put up a set for a song [Fanaa]. Mani Ratnam was shooting a song on a set after a long time.
It [doing the art direction for Yuva and Aayutha Ezhuthu] was difficult because I had put up a lot of sets in a very short period.
I really enjoyed working with Mani Ratnam. He is very good at heart. I could vibe very well with him.