Portraits by Raghu Rai get framed by daughter Avani in a documentary
As Raghu Rai turned 75 on December 18, the ace photographer was presented to the audience by his daughter Avani Rai, both as a father and a photographer through a 55minute documentary titled Raghu Rai, An Unframed Portrait, produced by Iikka Vehkalahti and Anurag Kashyap.
Avani, 25, has been silently but actively following him for the past six years. The documentary shows two parallel worlds — one where the fatherdaughter duo explores the lanes and the Kashmir Valley through their lens, and in another Rai’s journey in India till date as framed by him. She had a tough time shooting him.
FILLING UP BIG SHOES
Being Rai’s daughter, she had to live up to not only other people’s expectations, but also her father’s. “There was pressure all the time upon me, and I wanted to get rid of this from my system. To be his daughter is too hectic because being shadowed is a big thing. Although he says he wants to pass on all his knowledge to his children, you cannot inherit everything and I also wanted to have my own point of view,” says Avani.
In 1966, Raghu Rai took his first professional picture with a camera that he borrowed from his friend and it was selected by the London Times.
I will go out of the way to praise my children. They will have to explore and do things of their own and discover their own life RAGHU RAI PHOTOGRAPHER
I was fascinated by the way he walked into people’s lives, almost shamelessly. Initially, I shot him for fun; I later planned the short film AVANI RAI DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER
CAPTURING EMOTIONS
Rai’s claim to fame was his series of photographs that he took during the Bhogal Gas Tragedy of 1984. The image of a dead child being buried with his eyes open still sends shivers down the spine.
“To capture a tragedy, you have to freeze your sentiments and respond with simple emotions as they touch you, so that you can capture the essence of the tragedy. I aim to capture the situation as it speaks to me,” says Rai, who has been awarded the Padma Shri — India’s fourth highest civilian honour.
His work covers a wide swathe — the Bangladesh war, Mother Teresa, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, film directors Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen, and the Dalai Lama, to name just a few — all of this has been recorded for posterity, and a bulk of it is in shades of black and white.
TECHNICALLY SPEAKING
Does he find monochrome more appealing than colour? “I have used lots of colours, but during my initial 20 years of photography it was black and white,” he replied.
Rai laments that too much of editing and technicalities are somewhere spoiling the true essence of an image. “Jo dil se nahi bolenge wo awaz ka faeda nahi. Nowadays, children are too much involved in technicalities and editing. Unless a picture is clicked from heart, there won’t be any meaning in it,” he opines.
There are moments in the documentary when Rai scolds Avani and then immediately teaches her how to perfect the shot. “At times, it is stressful to work with him. He would correct me every time. Now, after the documentary, it is relaxing. We are friends again,” she beamed.
Avani recalled how she loved shooting her father, and then going through all the pictures in her Mumbai hostel. It’s a bundle of memories, some of the sweetest for her. “Raghu Rai has been watching India over the past 50 years. It (this documentary) is me trying to understand and figure myself out while I see the world through his work,” says Avani.