Bhubaneswar: During the concluding day of 11th JDCA film festival Sunday, the documentary ‘Image/Reflection’ based on Adoor Gopalakrishnan, a renowned filmmaker, was its highlight.
The film, made by Girish Kasaravalli, explores Adoor’s filmmaking style and his imagination. Eminent artists and filmmakers from the state attended the screening of the 88-minute long film.
“Film Division of India proposed to me the idea of making a film on Adoor. He is one of the people I admire the most. It was a great experience documenting him and meeting various people he is and was associated with,” said Girish.
CEO of Bhubaneswar Smart City Ltd R Vineel Krishna who attended the closing ceremony of the film festival at JDCA in Khandagiri, said, “We should be proud that Orissa is very active in art and culture… To promote art and artists, our organisation and BDA have started ‘music in park’ programme. We are also planning to begin street art events in future.”
Raghu Rai fond of ‘magical’ moments with Mother Teresa
Bhubaneswar: Veteran photojournalist Raghu Rai, most notably known for his works on Bangladeshi refugees and Bhopal gas tragedy, was in city to attend the 11th JDCA international film festival. A Padma Shri awardee, Raghu’s photo essays have appeared in Time, The New York Times, Newsweek, Vogue and many others. His work ‘Human Management of Wildlife in India’ that was published in National Geographic won him ‘Photographer of the Year’ award presented by the
US government.
In an interview with Monalisa Patsani of
Orissa POST, Raghu opens up about his experience of practicing photography as a profession for the last 50 years.
You have photographed many important events and personalities. Is there any specific moment that you are very fond of?
There are many and I feel
fortunate. The time I spent with Mother Teresa is very special to me. I met her first in 1970s before she was decorated with the Nobel Prize. She was amazing because she
remained the same person even after she won it. A picture I took of her praying is my favorite. I had a difficult time convincing to photograph her in the praying hall.
A picture you clicked during the Bhopal disaster became the face of the incident. Pablo Bartholomew also took similar pictures but yours became more popular. What is your recollection of the event?
His pictures were in colour. I photographed the scene in colour as well as in black and white. However, I found the latter, which became popular, more appealing. I feel the grayscale photo brought out the emotion more efficiently.
Though many of your works have appeared in international magazines and newspapers, you have said many a timethat they do not meet your satisfaction. Can you elaborate?
I wait to get the perfect shot. Sometimes I spend two hours or more taking pictures of a scene. There are times when their composition among other elements does not meet my expectation. Earlier, we had to carry films in our bags before digital cameras became popular. I would spend 36 clicks to get the perfect picture.
What was your reason behind not taking pictures of politicians after 1990?
They do not allow the photographers to get close to them due to security reasons and protocols. I feel that lensmen need to get closer to politicians to take good pictures.
What do love most about photography?
It helps me explore and understand the world. Capturing moments, which are magical to me, gives me immense
pleasure.
What was your brother’s role in inspiring you to practice photography as a profession?
It’s true that he was my inspiration. I joined the field because of him. He made me realise that photography is my religion.
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