Photographer Nemai Ghosh has been the quintessential Satyajit Ray biographer through his long term association with the master filmmaker. Ghosh’s entire collection comprising 1,20,000 pictures of cinestars, yesteryear Bollywood starlets and shots of some famous characters from the movie sets of the country’s only Academy award winning director have been acquired by the Delhi Art Gallery, which is on display at the ongoing exhibition titled, “Nemai Ghosh, Satyajit Ray and Beyond.”
“The show is also accompanied by a book on Ghosh, who took up photography in his early 30’s,” says Pramod KG, curator of the show.
Talking about Satyajit Ray, Ghosh says, “My first passion was theatre, and decades ago an actor friend introduced me to the ace filmmaker. I barely exchanged about 25 words with Satyajit, but we both connected and understood each other perfectly.”
Talking about one of his favourite pictures from the collection, Nemai says, “My first picture of Ray taken in 1968, just after we interacted for a short duration, is very dear to me. I captured the intense filmmaker between two trees, while he was shooting at the countryside.”
The limited edition archival photographic prints highlight the lesser-known yet extensive documentation of cinema — both mainstream Hindi cinema as well as regional Bengali films. However, the artist mentions, “For years, I urged people to take up my collection, but neither collectors nor documentary makers on Ray’s life came forward.”
Sharing his views on Ghosh’s works photographer Raghu Rai says, “The thrill, and the pathos of the Indian cinema are captured with a wonderful, almost child-like compulsiveness in Ghosh’s photographs. “Capturing a master like Satyajit at work by another master artist speaks of the glory of the works,” artist Gopu Gajwani.
The rare photo exhibition will be on till January 28