Painters of light and shadow
Updated On: 19 June, 2022 07:53 AM IST | Mumbai | Meenakshi Shedde
Hemant Chaturvedi is the outstanding cinematographer of many Hindi films, including the extraordinary Maqbool; Company, Makdee, Ishaqzaade and 15 Park Avenue (English)
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Illustration/Uday Mohite
Hey, all of you, who have ever loved the movies, can you name a single cinematographer who has shot any of the films you have loved? For two hours or more we are mesmerised by images of films, that we remember for decades. Yet, very few care to find out who created those images and worlds; most people know only the names of film stars; occasionally the director or music composer. Cinematographers, editors and other crew are Dalits in the hierarchy of our love for the movies. Chhayaankan: The Management of Shadows, a documentary by Hemant Chaturvedi, is a warm tribute to Hindi cinema’s cinematographers. Chhayaankan, which has had limited, mainly private or online screenings so far, will be screened for the public at Museo Camera Centre For The Photographic Arts, Gurgaon, on June 25 and 26 (@museocamera.org).
Hemant Chaturvedi is the outstanding cinematographer of many Hindi films, including the extraordinary Maqbool; Company, Makdee, Ishaqzaade and 15 Park Avenue (English). Disillusioned, he quit the mainstream film industry in 2015 to focus on independent projects— Chhayaankan, and still photography projects, including on India’s single screen cinemas. Chhayaankan explores the lives and work of 14 senior cinematographers, who have significantly contributed to the Mumbai film industry since the 1950s. These include Govind Nihalani (Aakrosh), Jehangir Chowdhury (Mirch Masala), Peter Pereira (Amar Akbar Anthony), SM Anwar (Sholay’s operative cameraman under Dwarka Divecha), Nadeem Khan (Gaman, Disco Dancer), AK Bir (27 Down), Pravin Bhatt (Umrao Jaan), Baba Azmi (Mr India), RM Rao (Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story), and more. Waheeda Rehman is the only non-cinematographer interviewed.
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