Long before he gave Hindi cinema gems like 36 Chowringhee Lane, Trikaal, Mirch Masala and Mandi, ace cinematographer Ashok Mehta was peddling boiled eggs and sliced fruits on the streets of Bombay.
Long before he gave Hindi cinema gems like 36 Chowringhee Lane, Trikaal, Mirch Masala and Mandi, ace cinematographer Ashok Mehta was peddling boiled eggs and sliced fruits on the streets of Bombay.
Mehta, who had run away from his Delhi home as a teenager, discovered his true calling when he happened to see the outdoor shoot of a movie in Dadar.
With aspirations to become a part of the filmmaking process in the city, he found work as a canteen boy at Asha Studio in Chembur and was later employed as an office boy at RK Studios in the vicinity.
He soon worked his way up, initially running errands and handling equipment. Mehta got his first break as a cinematographer in The Witness. Though the film was eventually shelved, he caught the eye of actor-producer Shashi Kapoor who offered him 36 Chowringhee Lane.
Mehta, who passed away on Wednesday after a prolonged battle with cancer, has left behind a rich legacy of both parallel and mainstream films like Aankhen, Chalte Chalte, Moksha
(the only feature film which he also directed), Ram Lakhan and No Entry. His last work
is the documentary Bollywood: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told.
In his tribute, filmmaker Shekhar Kapoor said on his website: “I have only done one film with him (Bandit Queen). And that is because Ashok refused to come with me to the West where I pursued my creative goals. He refused to be taken away from his roots here in India. I still wish he had come. I missed him a lot.”
Actress Pooja Bedi, who worked with Mehta on a TV commercial for condoms, said: “It is uncanny how Prabuddho (lensman Prabhuddha Dasgupta) who shot my Kamasutra print campaign passed away days before Ashok who shot the TV advertisement for Kamasutra.”
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap feels that Mehta was a source of inspiration to everyone he worked with. “He was ever giving and the nicest man I knew in the city,” he added.
Actress Tisca Chopra shared a little-known fact about Mehta. “He shared my love of the Persian language and inspired me by his enthusiasm and passion,” she said.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}