Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur) - Hindustan Times (Jaipur) - City
Everything I want to express started from photography: Boman
Actor Boman Irani started off as a waiter, went on to take up photography after buying a camera with his savings, and at the age of 35, became an actor. Now, he is planning his directorial debut. Today, on World Photography Day, we take a look at his journey. Photography was a natural choice for Irani, whose father was a photographer. “I never met my father, so it (few cameras and some negatives) was the only physical memory of him,” says the 60-year-old actor. Although he took up photography when he became a father, he had read a lot of books on it before that, and it soon became an outlet for expression. He says, “Photography taught me patience. It was a stepping stone to what I eventually wanted to do. Everything I want to express started from photography.” Counting legends such as Raghu Rai, Pablo Bartholomew and Henri Cartier-bresson among his inspirations, he says, “These are the real disciplined gurus who devoted their lives to the craft. There’s nothing flashy to what they do, but it’s outstanding. You don’t have to read anything about them. You just have to see their photographs and you understand what went into it.”
This opens the field for the age-old equipment vs vision debate. For Irani, it was a lack of means to afford equipment that helped him hone his craft. “I’m not saying equipment is not necessary, but all my photography came out of lack of equipment. The moment I feel I am being stunted if I don’t have an additional lens, I am finished. At that point in time, I never had the notion that I would increase my kit. Then, you rely on vision, expression, creativity. Even though specific kinds of photography would need equipment, never be stunted by it,” he advises.
With the pandemic, has it become difficult to go out and click? “I now look forward to the photograph to come to me. Don’t feel stunted just because you’re at home. You are only stunted by your own lack of creativity,” he opines.