Admitting that he learnt lot of the tricks of the trade from Rajadhyaksha, Avinash said that it was Rajadhyaksha’s ability to bring out the best in his subject that was worth learning.
Gautam Rajadhyaksha is one of the reasons why I am a photographer today. For me Gautam was an inspiration and I worshipped him.
I learnt a lot of things about photography from him but it was Gautam’s ability to bring out the best in his subject that was worth learning. He taught us a lot about how we should be as human beings and how to handle celebrities
Hailing from a middle-class Maharashtrian family, my dream to become a photographer was strengthened by Gautam. Nobody knew what photography was all about. Gautam brought glamour to our industry. When I told my parents I wanted to be a photographer, I gave them Gautam’s example.
My earliest memory of the ace photographer was when I was a young boy hanging around my cousin Ashutosh Gowariker’s set for Baazi. Aamir (Khan) was dressed as a woman for a song and I remember how uncomfortable he was when he came out. Gautam spoke to him and eased him into the shot.
See, that is something. The beauty of his pictures was that they were not gimmicky. They were clean-shot, well-lit portraits. There is no elaborate styling or locations, the photographs revealed who the stars were. Gautam’s images went on to become iconic because he managed to open the stars up and brought out their personalities.
Rajadhyaksha’s simplicity – simple set-up, simple working style – made sure that the stars were comfortable because they didn’t realise that a photo-shoot was underway in my opinion.
Amongst my favourite pictures by Gautam, is the image of the Mangeshkar sisters -- the one where Lataji is in the foreground and Ashaji is in the background. In such a tight close-up to bring out two very strong personalities could only be done by Gautam.
I have been on a Sakal’s panel to judge a photo competition with Gautam and Mohan (Wagh) kaka. We lost Mohan kaka last year and this year Gautam. It is extremely sad. My last memory is judging the entries with Gautam and I'm very lucky to have known him.
As told to Shakti Salgaokar
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