started way back in school you know I
was the I used to love gadgets and my
dad also you know used to pick up a lot
of gadgets and whenever anything used to
go wrong with the gadget I used to take
the screwdriver open it you know whether
it’s a tape recorder a Walkman CD player
whatever just to know what’s inside so I
really enjoy technology and the the
first time I came across a viewfinder
camera in my dad’s cupboard which you
know which I stumbled upon and I said
okay you know let’s give this a shot and
at that point I had no clue I didn’t
have the vision that I’m going to be a
photographer or you know so then I
started taking family pictures I took
the family holiday pictures and I
started shooting for my school picnic
and stuff like that and I started
enjoying it sooner you know I started
getting obsessed by it you know and then
then those days it was filled so I used
to cost of film processing printing was
quite expensive so then I you know I
started shooting out of wine glasses by
the sunset and is to go out and shoot so
my parents is to what I would say okay
he’s got a new hobby even I felt the
same and it kept getting I kept in was
obsessed by it I moved to junior college
and I picked up a SLR camera a film SLR
camera for the first name and I didn’t
have the money to buy it it was in those
days some 5000 bucks and a secondhand
camera and I to ask my mom and people
from a middle-class family my mom said
no you’re not spending five grand on
some thing that you’re just gonna pick
up and you know keep aside will be one
of your other gadgets you’ll open it up
you’ll do something so I asked my aunt
for a loan my mom actually gave the
money to my aunt to give it to me so
that I had to repay that money because I
realized the value at okay which I found
out much much later my mum has tricked
me my first car that I bought also from
my dad I to pay him full amount as a new
car although to secondhand you know so
so I realized the value of
money at a very early age and you know
then for coming back to photography I
started shooting audiovisuals for my
college I started shooting friends who
were aspiring want to be models and I
switch eyes them the material cost of
film only and you know so it was giving
me a lot of thoughts on what to do you
know go out wake up at 5:00 in the
morning go out shoot sunrises I was
really really getting obsessed by it
after my 12th standard actually just
before my board exams in in 12th in the
12 standard I went to submit who’s my
ex-boss was a good friend of mine right
now and and I asked him you know I’ve
got walked into his studio and I told
him you know I want to assist you so he
said I don’t keep some more interns if
you were just thinking of this two
months and all I I’m not gonna keep you
for that I said no no so using what
about a college at the spur of the
moment I said okay you know I’ll quit
college after 12th I’ll do
correspondence and I’ll start working
with you
I’m not disgusted with my parents so so
you see you sure I say I am sure because
I mean I walked into that studio when I
walked into that space I saw that the
pictures on the wall and I said you know
this is something I really enjoy
something I would really like to do and
I go back to my parents we had a Bombay
Dyeing shop like she like he introduced
and on from school days actually we used
to go to the store on Diwali on this
busy days and help my dad because there
was a lot of rush of the shop in those
days and we used to so I can actually
still measure and cut cloth even now you
know I just did it for my daughter the
other day then I you know I told my dad
okay I have three I told my mom that I
have three years of senior college left
and you know I’ll do become through
correspondence and three years I’ll work
with so meat and if it has something for
me great if not you know I have the
business to fall back on which is my
easy way out you know I think that was
the first breaking boundary for me where
I decided not to take my dad’s business
which was the easy way out and go in and
go and you know step out and tried if
something different so I think I’m glad
that I decided to do that and
I must tell you in back in the 80s late
eighties photography wasn’t like a
career option like a doctor or engineer
or it wasn’t even respected you know so
everybody you asked you what you what do
you do and you say I’m a photographer
says yeah but what you do for a living
isn’t you know I said no I’m a
photographer for living you know so so
it was difficult for them to understand
that my elder brother became a chef so
so the whole thing in the favorite 90s
was the egg cooker guy or a photographer
oh yeah like it was like something a
filmy photographer okay so it anyway I
didn’t didn’t let me boy it didn’t
bother me I must tell you this that a
lot of my friends when I dropped out
from 12 standard came to my home and
told my parents that you know you don’t
know this fashion industry it’s got
models it’s got drinking it’s got drugs
it’s got etc etc so my mum said I mean
what is the guarantee that he won’t do
all these things even if he’s not a
photographer which I respect her for
because to think in those days that you
know it’s okay let him try it for three
years so I am really really thankful and
you know with the support of my family I
could break those boundaries and go
ahead and do what I loved
I said assisting sumeet and sure enough
I saw all these things what we my mum
was worried about but I can proudly say
I didn’t even take today I haven’t even
tried a puff of a cigarette so you know
so I was I lived up to my reputation I
was like people that I’m a misfit in
industry because you know if suddenly a
guy who’s I could hardly speak to girls
when I was in school you know suddenly
from not able to even communicate from
not even even you know look look a girl
in the eye when I was in school suddenly
have to tell the girls okay you know you
need to wear this oh you don’t need to
wear this or whatever you know the shoe
heavy so so it was quite a journey it
was quite a transformation for me and
and then the four years which to meet
that I worked with were very interesting
I learned a lot about when I walked it
when I started on the first day of the
job
he told me that in these three we are
committed for three years I said in
these three years you will learn a lot
about life you know you will come as a
boy you’ll go as a man so I said yeah
whatever you know so I but it sure
enough the first day we went for food it
was first day we went for the shoot it
was at 5:00 in the morning called time
and I had to take a train from Bandra to
go to colaba that’s where studio was and
you know so it’s first day itself opened
me up like thinking oh god you know I
haven’t seen life like this on the train
railway tracks and seeing all these
places gave me inspiration you know I
started writing down locations so many
so many visuals that I saw on the street
then I incorporated in my photography
like I would see a truck I would write
it down so then I have actually used all
these props in my calendar shoots I’ll
show a small video to you all about my
calendars
it’s a two-minute video then I come back
to how much fun we have at the shoot and
how much hard work it is we’ll see the
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
thank you so continuing from theirs and
I then in the journey I set up my own
studio I started shooting with only
outdoor pictures I because I didn’t have
a studio in the early days and you know
lots of grief from magazine people that
you know you’ve you’ve created this
whole brand about shooting outdoor
shooting in natural light
how long will you you know sustain so I
got a lot of grief also because film
photography wasn’t looked upon like this
you know I I went coming from a fashion
photography background I try to change
how the stars have been shot and then
you know that itself again was another
boundary which I crossed and suddenly
the same magazine editors who used to
give me grief are calling me and saying
can you shoot the whole issue for me can
you shoot the whole annual issue for me
so it felt great that okay I’m being
appreciated you know and rather than me
calling the actors they started sending
feelers and messages flew through
magazines can we shoot with Dabu so I
think to create a signature style for
all of us is very very important in this
trade 23 24 years I’ve seen that a lot
of people have come and gone as
photographers you know but the guys who
have stayed on is some people who have
created like a signature style so for
all of you you know I mean my motto when
I go for a shoot even today like we do
this cat calendar that we you see this
isn’t the 19th year we just released the
19th calendar and you know I try to go
through prior to this calendar we had
done 444 calendar shots in the last 18
year so I go through those and I see ok
how do I beat myself how do I do what I
have already done you know so I try to
achieve something new every single day
when I go to the studio when I say ok
today it could be a small thing it could
be a new lens it could be a new angle
that I tried it could be a new light
that I bought some accessory that I
picked up anything can inspire me
create something new and that’s the kind
of you know that’s what keeps me going
all these 19 calendars you know push
myself every year I try to evolve from
there to try to see okay you know what
have I not done I’ve shot mr. Bachchan
17 times in these years what should I do
this year that I haven’t done with him
before or he hasn’t done before with
anybody else
so I think that’s what keeps me going
and then my actually before this when I
got married
you know everybody told my wife and me
that shouldn’t work together because she
handles everything else I just take care
of the like the creative zone you know
and she takes care of start to finish
everything else so so she’s a lot of
people’s I don’t know wife and husband
working together it’s a complete nono so
for the first two three months she
continued her job in Times of India and
then I just then she came one day to the
studio and she took care of replying to
my son 14 already emails which I had not
replied to you know so I said that’s it
from tomorrow you’re not going back you
know she were stay with me I can no I
mean having someone as a family someone
you can completely trust who’s taking
care of everything else you know so now
actually she tells the girls walked away
what not to way except her so it becomes
easier and it’s coming from a girl to a
girl you know so it makes it make life
simpler and she’s been a great great
support the kids come for my calendar
shoots like you saw it just breaks the
ice these are things that haven’t been
done before ever in the film industry
you know family coming for shoots you
must have always heard like you know
they keep always the actor keeps the
family away people keep the family life
completely away from from the
professional work I I think for me is
work the other way around you know the
kind of trust the kind of way the way
people look at me is a commoner is a
completely different way so I think that
that niche that I’ve created for myself
has kind of helped me to sustain so many
years and yeah and basically you know so
that I just want to share which I hope I
inspire at least one of you to you know
to create that kind of space for
yourself to think that okay whatever
feel that you are getting into you know
try and do some
new something something different each
and every day you know I had I actually
chose my profession and I actually you
know thanks I’m thankful to them even
today that you know for letting me
choose this part but for bringing me to
this stage in life where I’m in front of
all you guys and yeah I think it’s been
beautiful so guys you must must give
give give it a shot whatever y’all think
about whatever y’all want to try is at
least worth giving a shot
I meet lot of actors you know one of the
actors who come to Bombay to shoot
portfolios and they say okay you know
this they struggle for eight eight ten
ten years and then they go back to their
towns you know because I have seen that
only like point zero one percent people
who want to actually make it as actors
actually end up reaching the big screen
but they don’t regret it you know they
say okay we tried so many years we gave
it a shot we had pulled out these many
amount of yours it’s fine at least I
gave it my best shot I don’t regret that
you know so so that’s what I guess I
that’s the kind of message that I’m
giving you
push the boundary break the boundary
know the rules then break the rules thank you
was the I used to love gadgets and my
dad also you know used to pick up a lot
of gadgets and whenever anything used to
go wrong with the gadget I used to take
the screwdriver open it you know whether
it’s a tape recorder a Walkman CD player
whatever just to know what’s inside so I
really enjoy technology and the the
first time I came across a viewfinder
camera in my dad’s cupboard which you
know which I stumbled upon and I said
okay you know let’s give this a shot and
at that point I had no clue I didn’t
have the vision that I’m going to be a
photographer or you know so then I
started taking family pictures I took
the family holiday pictures and I
started shooting for my school picnic
and stuff like that and I started
enjoying it sooner you know I started
getting obsessed by it you know and then
then those days it was filled so I used
to cost of film processing printing was
quite expensive so then I you know I
started shooting out of wine glasses by
the sunset and is to go out and shoot so
my parents is to what I would say okay
he’s got a new hobby even I felt the
same and it kept getting I kept in was
obsessed by it I moved to junior college
and I picked up a SLR camera a film SLR
camera for the first name and I didn’t
have the money to buy it it was in those
days some 5000 bucks and a secondhand
camera and I to ask my mom and people
from a middle-class family my mom said
no you’re not spending five grand on
some thing that you’re just gonna pick
up and you know keep aside will be one
of your other gadgets you’ll open it up
you’ll do something so I asked my aunt
for a loan my mom actually gave the
money to my aunt to give it to me so
that I had to repay that money because I
realized the value at okay which I found
out much much later my mum has tricked
me my first car that I bought also from
my dad I to pay him full amount as a new
car although to secondhand you know so
so I realized the value of
money at a very early age and you know
then for coming back to photography I
started shooting audiovisuals for my
college I started shooting friends who
were aspiring want to be models and I
switch eyes them the material cost of
film only and you know so it was giving
me a lot of thoughts on what to do you
know go out wake up at 5:00 in the
morning go out shoot sunrises I was
really really getting obsessed by it
after my 12th standard actually just
before my board exams in in 12th in the
12 standard I went to submit who’s my
ex-boss was a good friend of mine right
now and and I asked him you know I’ve
got walked into his studio and I told
him you know I want to assist you so he
said I don’t keep some more interns if
you were just thinking of this two
months and all I I’m not gonna keep you
for that I said no no so using what
about a college at the spur of the
moment I said okay you know I’ll quit
college after 12th I’ll do
correspondence and I’ll start working
with you
I’m not disgusted with my parents so so
you see you sure I say I am sure because
I mean I walked into that studio when I
walked into that space I saw that the
pictures on the wall and I said you know
this is something I really enjoy
something I would really like to do and
I go back to my parents we had a Bombay
Dyeing shop like she like he introduced
and on from school days actually we used
to go to the store on Diwali on this
busy days and help my dad because there
was a lot of rush of the shop in those
days and we used to so I can actually
still measure and cut cloth even now you
know I just did it for my daughter the
other day then I you know I told my dad
okay I have three I told my mom that I
have three years of senior college left
and you know I’ll do become through
correspondence and three years I’ll work
with so meat and if it has something for
me great if not you know I have the
business to fall back on which is my
easy way out you know I think that was
the first breaking boundary for me where
I decided not to take my dad’s business
which was the easy way out and go in and
go and you know step out and tried if
something different so I think I’m glad
that I decided to do that and
I must tell you in back in the 80s late
eighties photography wasn’t like a
career option like a doctor or engineer
or it wasn’t even respected you know so
everybody you asked you what you what do
you do and you say I’m a photographer
says yeah but what you do for a living
isn’t you know I said no I’m a
photographer for living you know so so
it was difficult for them to understand
that my elder brother became a chef so
so the whole thing in the favorite 90s
was the egg cooker guy or a photographer
oh yeah like it was like something a
filmy photographer okay so it anyway I
didn’t didn’t let me boy it didn’t
bother me I must tell you this that a
lot of my friends when I dropped out
from 12 standard came to my home and
told my parents that you know you don’t
know this fashion industry it’s got
models it’s got drinking it’s got drugs
it’s got etc etc so my mum said I mean
what is the guarantee that he won’t do
all these things even if he’s not a
photographer which I respect her for
because to think in those days that you
know it’s okay let him try it for three
years so I am really really thankful and
you know with the support of my family I
could break those boundaries and go
ahead and do what I loved
I said assisting sumeet and sure enough
I saw all these things what we my mum
was worried about but I can proudly say
I didn’t even take today I haven’t even
tried a puff of a cigarette so you know
so I was I lived up to my reputation I
was like people that I’m a misfit in
industry because you know if suddenly a
guy who’s I could hardly speak to girls
when I was in school you know suddenly
from not able to even communicate from
not even even you know look look a girl
in the eye when I was in school suddenly
have to tell the girls okay you know you
need to wear this oh you don’t need to
wear this or whatever you know the shoe
heavy so so it was quite a journey it
was quite a transformation for me and
and then the four years which to meet
that I worked with were very interesting
I learned a lot about when I walked it
when I started on the first day of the
job
he told me that in these three we are
committed for three years I said in
these three years you will learn a lot
about life you know you will come as a
boy you’ll go as a man so I said yeah
whatever you know so I but it sure
enough the first day we went for food it
was first day we went for the shoot it
was at 5:00 in the morning called time
and I had to take a train from Bandra to
go to colaba that’s where studio was and
you know so it’s first day itself opened
me up like thinking oh god you know I
haven’t seen life like this on the train
railway tracks and seeing all these
places gave me inspiration you know I
started writing down locations so many
so many visuals that I saw on the street
then I incorporated in my photography
like I would see a truck I would write
it down so then I have actually used all
these props in my calendar shoots I’ll
show a small video to you all about my
calendars
it’s a two-minute video then I come back
to how much fun we have at the shoot and
how much hard work it is we’ll see the
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
thank you so continuing from theirs and
I then in the journey I set up my own
studio I started shooting with only
outdoor pictures I because I didn’t have
a studio in the early days and you know
lots of grief from magazine people that
you know you’ve you’ve created this
whole brand about shooting outdoor
shooting in natural light
how long will you you know sustain so I
got a lot of grief also because film
photography wasn’t looked upon like this
you know I I went coming from a fashion
photography background I try to change
how the stars have been shot and then
you know that itself again was another
boundary which I crossed and suddenly
the same magazine editors who used to
give me grief are calling me and saying
can you shoot the whole issue for me can
you shoot the whole annual issue for me
so it felt great that okay I’m being
appreciated you know and rather than me
calling the actors they started sending
feelers and messages flew through
magazines can we shoot with Dabu so I
think to create a signature style for
all of us is very very important in this
trade 23 24 years I’ve seen that a lot
of people have come and gone as
photographers you know but the guys who
have stayed on is some people who have
created like a signature style so for
all of you you know I mean my motto when
I go for a shoot even today like we do
this cat calendar that we you see this
isn’t the 19th year we just released the
19th calendar and you know I try to go
through prior to this calendar we had
done 444 calendar shots in the last 18
year so I go through those and I see ok
how do I beat myself how do I do what I
have already done you know so I try to
achieve something new every single day
when I go to the studio when I say ok
today it could be a small thing it could
be a new lens it could be a new angle
that I tried it could be a new light
that I bought some accessory that I
picked up anything can inspire me
create something new and that’s the kind
of you know that’s what keeps me going
all these 19 calendars you know push
myself every year I try to evolve from
there to try to see okay you know what
have I not done I’ve shot mr. Bachchan
17 times in these years what should I do
this year that I haven’t done with him
before or he hasn’t done before with
anybody else
so I think that’s what keeps me going
and then my actually before this when I
got married
you know everybody told my wife and me
that shouldn’t work together because she
handles everything else I just take care
of the like the creative zone you know
and she takes care of start to finish
everything else so so she’s a lot of
people’s I don’t know wife and husband
working together it’s a complete nono so
for the first two three months she
continued her job in Times of India and
then I just then she came one day to the
studio and she took care of replying to
my son 14 already emails which I had not
replied to you know so I said that’s it
from tomorrow you’re not going back you
know she were stay with me I can no I
mean having someone as a family someone
you can completely trust who’s taking
care of everything else you know so now
actually she tells the girls walked away
what not to way except her so it becomes
easier and it’s coming from a girl to a
girl you know so it makes it make life
simpler and she’s been a great great
support the kids come for my calendar
shoots like you saw it just breaks the
ice these are things that haven’t been
done before ever in the film industry
you know family coming for shoots you
must have always heard like you know
they keep always the actor keeps the
family away people keep the family life
completely away from from the
professional work I I think for me is
work the other way around you know the
kind of trust the kind of way the way
people look at me is a commoner is a
completely different way so I think that
that niche that I’ve created for myself
has kind of helped me to sustain so many
years and yeah and basically you know so
that I just want to share which I hope I
inspire at least one of you to you know
to create that kind of space for
yourself to think that okay whatever
feel that you are getting into you know
try and do some
new something something different each
and every day you know I had I actually
chose my profession and I actually you
know thanks I’m thankful to them even
today that you know for letting me
choose this part but for bringing me to
this stage in life where I’m in front of
all you guys and yeah I think it’s been
beautiful so guys you must must give
give give it a shot whatever y’all think
about whatever y’all want to try is at
least worth giving a shot
I meet lot of actors you know one of the
actors who come to Bombay to shoot
portfolios and they say okay you know
this they struggle for eight eight ten
ten years and then they go back to their
towns you know because I have seen that
only like point zero one percent people
who want to actually make it as actors
actually end up reaching the big screen
but they don’t regret it you know they
say okay we tried so many years we gave
it a shot we had pulled out these many
amount of yours it’s fine at least I
gave it my best shot I don’t regret that
you know so so that’s what I guess I
that’s the kind of message that I’m
giving you
push the boundary break the boundary
know the rules then break the rules thank you
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