‘View of river Ganga in Varanasi is spectacular!’

Known for films like ‘Filmistaan’, ‘Poorna’, ‘Atkan Chatkan’ and career spanning two decades, cinematographer Subhransu Das calls himself a visual story teller. “I believe cinema is so much about visuals and canvases and it is my job to tell the story through my camera. Being a trained photographer, I always wanted to create stories with my camera and landed into Mumbai with the same dream.”

Talking about his journey Subhransu said, “I had no idea whether my passion for photography will get me work or not, but I knew I had to start somewhere. I used to call filmmakers and sit outside studios and offices in search of work. My first break came as an assistant cinematographer for the show ‘Just Mohabbat’ followed by many other projects with senior directors of photography.”

“Being from Odisha, I was trying for work there too and got an Oriya film ‘Maa Mangla’ followed by a Bollywood flick ‘Filmistaan.’ Then one of my solo shows ‘Sssshh... Phir Koi Hai’ won me an award in 2009. By then, I was getting number of good projects.”

Subhransu is currently, enjoying praises and accolades he is garnering for his last release that was extensively shot in Varanasi.

“I have always believed that

I don’t choose a film instead films choose me. When cheffilmmaker Vikas Khanna offered me ‘The Last Color’, I instantly knew the film will turn out to be a visual treat as Varanasi is one of the most beautiful cities of India. The view of Ganga there is spectacular and nowhere to be seen. And then, the festival of Holi played an important part in the film so all this added to my camerawork.”

Subhransu just completed a Bollywood film and will start shooting a web series in Bhopal next month. The ‘Shree’ cinematographer plans to produce and direct a film soon.