Jockeying for the future...
He is from Bihar. Is 5 foot nothing,about 30kgs ...He is not emaciated,just a jockey..at the chennai racing club. During the shoot of Bhima,caught him after his morning training.
Monday, May 14, 2007
The monochrome of money
Crowded around the betting counters,there fortune hanging on a eqqus racing in distant Mumbai...they came in different hues and sizes.They had one thing in common,to earn their livelihood. I was surprized to note,most were proffessional gamblers. This is what they did for a living. Their day started at 11am with studying the odds,peaked at 4 pm at the winning post,and ebbed by 6pm after the last of the races at the teller counters..
Sindh in Chennai
The Lingasami film BHIMA,with Vikram was being shot at the race club in Chennai. I met this genial,six feet plus gent whose Father shifted to Chennai,6 months before partition from Sindh. He is one of the topmost Brokers at the Ramaswami race course.While others around exhorted me to TREBLE my luck...Even as he showed me around the members box and the betting rink...His continuous refrain was,"dont sir,once you enter this world...you cant go back".Havent I heard this one before !
Posing NK
Very difficult to expect him to remain still and pose...So I posed questions he answered and I clicked.
Assam at Triveni
Baharul my class mate from the N.S.D.,is married to one of the finest actresses I have known,Bhagirati Bai from Karnataka.Against tremendous odds,together they run "Seagull" a theatre group in Guwahati.That winter day,I was inDelhi working all night at the Redfort for the Telegu film "Atithi",with Mahesh Babu.The day was free,we met over lunch at The Triveni Cafe over food ,Assam and life...
The Nexus...
Fresh out of N.S.D.,I met him.Passionate,charismatic,stubborn,eclectic,loving,leftist, and a believer in friendships...He directed plays,led people,gave a ear to anyone who aproached.He was the Agony uncle,who charged seemingly apolitical mortals to go into villages of then burning Punjab,singing songs of peace and Kabir.He was the hive around whom,all hovered...some just wanting to know,why others were there...while most wanting to hear something more.He was fire and ice... He was a child who sulked then cut off links..He was a mentor who wouldnt give up,till we got our wings.On his shift,Actors became poets and composers,small town boys experienced the freedom to talk and make friends with english honours girls...And some people like me,got out of the KLAUS MARIA BRANDEUR cliche in Mephisto... of "I am just an actor".To realy get,that "I am ALSO an actor".NK or nexus as I call him,continues to infuse life and smoke wills.His ACT 1 continues.This pic of him under the NEEM TREE OUTSIDE N.S.D.
Friday, March 30, 2007
My Fortune...
My Father,Mr.Govind Vidyarthi always spoke about his Fortune and Wealth.His friends..I love to flaunt mine too...Introducing my dear friend Alok Mathur.His love and generosity has enveloped all who know him. I have been addedly blessed,that inspite of living in different cities,we have remained in constant touch over the last 24 years. His wife Romila (whose real name is Seth),though a vegetarian who only eats kaaalay waaalay chholay,laughs at all my jokes and Arjan their son, doesnt mind getting his cheeks pinched by me... (love compounded and matured...)...Through ups and downs ,through euphoria and despair ,through Old monks and groggy mornings...Alok has been constant...Ever present...never changing...Not even has his hairstyle changed !That evening too he was there.First listening to the mesmeric sounds of the Beens and then to help me down from the roof after my photo taking spree..."Oye Ganjay...I love you"-Kaalooo .
Maverick Roy
Roy,since graduating from the National School of Drama has made a niche for himself directing plays and spectacles,rich in design and grandeur...
As I perched myself on the roof of the tenement at the Bharat Scouts and Guide ground...I experienced watching a dervaish...There was a trancelike feel as the "BEENS" hauntingly played as Roy conducted...Bagpipers one had heard of,but 60snake charmers playing in unision is an experience which will stay with me for a while...
Roy's Charmers...
I was in Delhi for two whole night shoots at the Red fort for my Telegu Film Atithi..I visited my friend Roysten Abel as he rehearsed with more than 60 snake charmers for a spectacle they were putting up for the innaugration of the Central Park at Connaught place...
Friday, March 23, 2007
Sealed and final !
Actors,Director,Film maker,Marketing whiz,Music company owner...All transfixed as Seal performed.This is one artist,who has caught a bullet fired at him with his teeth...He carries on..While holding on to a day time job in a company.
Any support to him will be a phenomenal contribution to keep this work alive in its land of birth..Thanks Mr. Seal for making our evening.Hope you like the pix.
Dont try this at home...
We were close to him...Ready to catch him...
I have a feeling,thats what he wanted...
The needle popped from the .....Eye !
Our Blaine...
The stage was set on the Bhawanipore terrace.
Friends were there,so were some whom I was meeting for the first time.
Bikram Ghosh,whom I had heard of and seen on hoardings in Calcutta was there with his wife Jaya.
I had worked with Jaya in my first Bangla film a few years back.
My chat with Bikram was insightful.
I got a peek into the maverick world of a much travelled,internationaly acclaimed virtuoso,who a few years back encountered the dilemna of ... What next,after years of playing with Ravi Shankar !
But he too like the rest of us had not expected what Prince Seal,our "Blaine"... wove around us !
Princely Seal of a Magician !
After a hard days work in Cal,good friend Ringo,Suman and I trooped down to Saurav's for a Bangla meal...
What awaited us,was something we had never ever seen in real life.
It was Magician Prince Seal !
For the better part of the 45 mins we were there,he left us dumb struck...
An exponent of close quarters Magic...He stood less than a feet away,prim and proper with a razor sharp moustache...Seal left us giggling ,wide eyed and embarassed with his dexterity and calm!
Cards were guessed,coins flew out of OUR HANDS,a glass next to my plate dissapeared...
It was a David Blaine..in Cal.
We wanted more..and more people to see him..and feel stupid as we were feeling. So we confimed a performance on Suman's terrace at Bhowanipore!
Monday, February 26, 2007
Rickshaw pulling colours...
The only rickshaw we saw during the hour long drive from the city to the river and back, was this one.
It was a riot of colour against the stark dusty brown scape.
I shuddered to think,how long the old ladies would have waited for the next rickshaw !
But for now,they had got a lift and I got the pic.
Rickshaw pulling colour...
Six women. 3 walking 3 waiting...
These 3 were waiting for a rickshaw.
We gave her a lift,and on the way the lady in the green sari talked...
She spoke of her family,her 13 grand children,and how she still is active.
She was taking her ailing friend to Purulia town.
She knew the Doctor,she had been his nanny.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
The Boys...
These two boys materialized out of,seemingly nowhere.And they both stood still for a very long time.They were neither with the cattle,nor were they playing(the elder one had an inflated football bladder under his arm).
I was mesmerized by the younger ones eyes and his running nose.
I am not happy with the composition,but wanted to share these fiery eyes against the stark landscape of the dusty wintery morning.
He didnt get picked
Close to Purulia town is the river Kansawati.I drove one misty morning to its banks.All I saw were the Banks,the river bed was mostly dry.
The landscape was pretty much arid and dusty.With cattle being led in search of grazing land.
There I encountered this shepherd. He was sporting the team India cap.
He had paused to gather a straggling lamb,every member of his team mattered.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Awaiting the sun at Purulia..
Ready with make up,whatever be the call time is the hallmark of a professional actor.
That morning,we had a 4am call.For me it meant a quick 10min makeup and ready !
For any actress it means a 3 am sit down for makeup.
Seeing her always on time,I joked with Indrani..."You get paid for your SINCERITY...your talent is something that you provide gratis".
But a 2am wake up ensured,she was pensive by 6am.
And I love capturing such moments !
The long wait...
After an hour of being photographed,as she was doing her make up...Indrani cracked up...With her characteristic smile she asked...
HOW MANY PIX WILL YOU TAKE?
I got the one I was waiting for !
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