Gulzar - Pukaaro mujhe naam lekar pukaaro

My  parents never woke us up for school by calling out to us or shaking us awake. My father would turn on the record player on high volume and let the song do it's job. More often than not, the song would be "Mora Gora Ang Lai Le" from Bandini. Though I did not know it then, it was my first introduction to Gulzar. As I grew up I hummed and sang many of his songs without realising that they belonged to him. It was not until 1988 when I actually heard his voice on TV for the opening of the series "Mirza Ghalib" that I became aware of his existence and how! It was because of the desire to understand what the man was saying that I started reading Ghalib and was drawn into the world of Urdu poetry. And thus began the love affair with Gulzar.

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Last week, my friend Riya, who loves me enough to write an entire blog post on me and is a hot-shot with Radio Mirchi(Something-Something Vice President) came down to Bombay to interview Gulzar for his birthday, which is of course, today - 18th of August. I decided to tag along for which she got permission but she very categorically told me that as far as taking pictures was concerned, I was on my own. So I took the smallest camera I own, slapped on the smallest lens and generally practiced looking small in the mirror and reached Gulzar Saab's place hoping that he would not notice me and my camera. But I think, my name gave me away and his eyes lit up with recognition and he recalled having met me some 11 years back when I landed up at his place to pick up the same friend, Riya, directly from a hair cutting salon. My appearance would have probably left a lot to be desired because the first thing he had done then was to hand me a brand new t-shirt after greeting me. I had sure made an impression!

Quickly deciding to put an end to my own misery, I blurted out my intention of taking pictures of him while he was giving the interview, half-expecting to be handed a pair of trousers this time and thrown out of the house.  "He takes wonderful pictures," Riya chimed in at the most appropriate moment proving that 20 years of friendship had not been in vain. He smiled and graciously agreed on the condition that I mail him the pictures. Really? Shoot his pictures and get his email id as well?! Sure.

So the interview began in earnest and in the space between the questions and answers I started shooting. Coffee and biscuits were served as Gulzaar Saab talked about the influences in his life and I hung on to every word.

Could it get any better? Apparently it could. Somewhere along the interview and me taking pictures, happily munching biscuits and sipping coffee -  he decided to crack a joke and mention me by name.

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I sat there stunned because I had least expected it. It's just one of those things that you never think will happen in a million years. The very voice that had introduced me to Mirza Ghalib, Jagjit Singh and RD Burman, the very voice that had set me off on such a wonderful journey of music and poetry as a child, the very voice which is perhaps responsible to a large extent for the trajectory my life has taken so far  -  had suddenly, out of the blue,  just called out my name. Happy birthday Gulzar Saab and thank you for the wonderful,wonderful gift!

Behind the scenes

When people ask me what is it that I love about my work, my usual reply is that no two days are ever the same. It is such a blessing to be a part of a film or TV crew. It is a greater blessing to be a part of a crew with a camera and an "all-access" pass! Having a camera with you is a great way of documenting your journey and I always have one (or two or three) with me. Not only does it allow me to remember where all I have been but it also helps me to connect with people and places that I otherwise would not. It also allows me to see what I otherwise would not.

Of course, it all starts with going to different locations as a part of location scouting. Whether you end up shooting there or not is another thing altogether. For those of you who are interested,  I usually mount an all purpose lens on my camera, mostly the  Nikon 28-300 lens and my  Nikon 50mm stays in my bag too, just in case I need to take some low light shots of locations at night. During this time my mind is working more like a director rather than a photographer and the pictures taken here have a very definite purpose - that of being able to recall what is seen from each angle so that I can share it with my team. These photographs are so important that quite a few times I have been hired by foreign productions to scout locations for them and take pictures but if during the process a beautiful photograph crops up  - I don't let it go!

 One thing that I do quite often is to actually "block" a shot and take a photograph to see if it works the way I see it in my head. This way I have something to show my cameraman as a reference and there is nothing worse than having an army of people walk into a location, setup a shot and realise that it does not work.

When I am not directing is usually when the photographer in me awakens but I have to be careful not to get in the way of actual shooting. I also have to judge if people around me are uncomfortable having a camera in close proximity and going "click-click" when they are trying to concentrate. To shoot the candids, there is usually a time window of a few seconds between the time the director shouts "roll camera" and says "action". After the shot starts, you really don't want to be shooting because it breaks everyone's concentration and there is also the technical issue of the shutter sound being captured by the microphones and ruining the shot. That having been said, I like to go in really close to the people who are comfortable with it. I mostly use a Nikon 17-35mm for this purpose.

In between the shots is the time when it is free for all. Lights being moved, props being shifted, refreshments being served and everyone just concentrating on setting up the next shot. Nobody notices the photographer and depending upon how well you camouflage yourself, you can get pretty close to the hotbed of action. I have a set of clothes made of cardboard for this purpose and just pretend to be a cardboard box at times like these! Sometimes I also disguise myself as a table.

If you look away from the actors and director, there are plenty of other images that can be shot which complete the overall experience of being a part of a shooting crew. It really is amazing to see so many different people contributing to create the environment and the shot and this is where the true magic (for me) lies. So many people from different walks of life, with different skills contribute to that one vision that someone has - and that is what we see on screen.

When there is too much activity on the set and you are apprehensive that you might land yourself in trouble is when the big zooms come out. Sit quietly in a corner and just observe and wait!!! All pictures below shot with the Nikon 70-200.

 And of course, if you are very lucky, once in a while, you will spot a photograph that will remind you that in spite of all the madness, the joy and the celebration - we are all human. We dance, we laugh, we cry  for the sake of entertainment and somewhere our troubles are forgotten - if only fleetingly.

That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed these photographs. Until next time...

CinemaScope

Where does a photograph belong? Apart from what you can see in a photograph, I believe, there are numerous other factors - both seen and unseen which give you an impression as to where the photo belongs and what it is trying to convey. Of course, there is what you can actually see in the background or part of the environment where the picture was taken and then there is colour and tone which conveys the mood. Lately, I have been trying to create photos which seem that they have been grabbed from films.

I realised that apart from using focal lengths which are primarily used in film making and toning the photograph (the equivalent of DI or Digital Intermediate in films) there is one very important factor that has an effect on how we perceive a photograph and that is aspect ratio. Most of the films that we see are shot on an aspect ratio of 1:1.85 or 1:2.35 or 1:2.40  and over the  years we come to associate these aspect ratios with being "cinematic".

Each of these photographs have been inspired from a film, at least in my head - whether or not it comes across, I leave it you to tell me. Do these remind you of any particular film that you have seen or do you think that they could have easily belonged to a particular film? Please let me know.

More on aspect ratios when we meet next. Until then, take care.

--- By Gorky M

Cricket

I don't watch cricket at all. I have worked as crew while covering cricket matches but never enjoyed watching it. Cricket terminology means nothing to me and usually it evokes strange imagery in my head. "Leg bye" conjures up the visual of a man trying to wave goodbye using his legs and trust me, you don't  want to know what "mid on" reminds me of!

While working on the ICC Champions Trophy  2002 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, the producer took pity on my miserable existence and I was promoted from being Talent Co-ordinator to being allowed to do pitch reports - the condition being that I had to do both! I was more than happy as that meant an all-access pass!

As usual, I always had a camera with me. In all my bloody ignorance, I think I was going for the crazy colour of the sky rather than the legend standing before me.

Of course, the lesser said about my framing and timing skills at that point of time, the better it is -as the photograph below demonstrates. Hopefully, I have improved somewhat since then in both departments. Whenever I look at this picture I kick myself for spoiling what could have been an otherwise good photograph. And to think I was allowed anywhere near these guys with a camera is a bloody miracle in itself.

These photographs remind me of the two most important things that I love about photography. One - that a fleeting moment might seem very ordinary when you are in it but once you have captured it in your camera it's value might become something that you never imagined. Two, there is no greater reminder of a mistake than a badly clicked photograph. It stares at you, reminding you never to make that mistake again and somewhere, hopefully that attitude trickles down to your personality.

Colour

I hate rains.  There... I said it! Sue me! Everybody I know and their cousins love the rains and this makes me feel like the odd man out. Even if I don't take into account the facts that traffic slows down to a crawl and everyone thinks it is completely alright to act like an idiot (zig-zagging their bikes while driving and roaming shirtless on Marine Drive) I still don't like the rains for two primary reasons. I am afraid of screwing up my equipment even if it is safely tucked in my cabinet due to the appearance of mould and fungus and more importantly - rains just suck the colour out of everything.

Exhibit A - the photograph below was taken at 2PM in the afternoon. Do you see how dull and drab it is?

I am fascinated by colour and I keep shooting random images of colour as it appears in our everyday lives. Enter Exhibits B,C,D,E,Fand G.

While shooting for TV I think we tend to get a bit scared while using colour. We get so taken up by the technical definition of white light and tungsten light that we forget the abundance of colour around us and that is exactly why I shoot these images -  to remind myself that bright and random colours do exist around us in all shapes, forms and objects. Colour also affects our mood and while I have been trying to implement this in my photography (with varied success) for a while, I have just recently become bolder with respect to using colour while directing stuff. I now control more of the lighting aspect of the scenes that I shoot or even better - some scenes that I don't shoot myself.  Enter Exhibit H.

People who follow my TV series Arjun will get to see more of this bold colour approach over the coming weeks. So while the rains might suck out colour from things around me - on the set, it is a different matter entirely.