Karnan (c. 1933 – 13 December 2012) is an Indian cinematographer and director who mainly worked in the Tamil film industry. Starting his career as an assistant to V. Ramamurthi, Karnan gradually rose to a full-fledged cinematographer, and made a few films based on curry western featuring Jaishankar in the lead. In an interview to Behindwoods, cinematographer Ravi K. Chandran mentioned Karnan as an inspiration and noted the way he made films. After prolonged illness, he died in December 2012.