Avinash Gowariker officially started his film photography career with late actor Sridevi’s 1997 film Judaai. He’d previously shot Aamir Khan and Karisma Kapoor.
Celebrity photographer Avinash Gowariker has been working with actors across India for several years now, and he knows how to get the best out of his subjects. However, this was not always the case, especially at the beginning of his career. In a new interview, he said that he learnt several important lessons while working with actors. The photographers recalled an unforgettable anecdote about working with the late superstar Sridevi. He described this as his ‘make or break moment’.
In a podcast with Cyrus Broacha, he explained how some actors understand their faces better than the technicians. He remembered how an interaction with Sridevi once taught him to accept an actor’s suggestions, and not let his ego get the better of him.
“Judaai was my first film. Actually Raja Hindustani was my first film, but first commissioned film was Judaai, through Boney (Kapoor). Sridevi was just at the peak of her career. When I came to shoot her, in my free time I was trying to take some pictures and she was sitting outdoor at Rama Naidu Studio. So she said, ‘Call me when you are ready’,” said Avinash.
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He continued, “I went out, put two reflectors and I told her ‘ma’am I am ready’. She came, she sat, and she looked into the mirror and then she looked at me and said ‘Back light is hitting my nose. Are you okay with that?’ So, that was a make or break moment for me in my life. Either I have to admit to a superstar that I didn’t realise it and I am an idiot or I have to say that it’s intentional. So, I said, ‘Yes ma’am I know!’”
The photographer further praised Sridevi for her professionalism and said, ” So, the beauty of Sridevi was, she said ‘okay’. They are dadas, they are superstars for a reason, they are so confident of themselves and then the way she posed, she saw to it that minimum back light hits her nose because she knew that ye idiot hai, naya naya aaya hai, abhi iske saath main kaha argue karu, and that has been one of my biggest learnings.”
Sridevi has been part of several blockbuster films, such as Mr India, Chalbaaz, Nagina, and Chandni among others. Her last onscreen appearance was the 2017 film Mom. She passed away in February 2018. Recently, her husband, producer Boney Kapoor remembered her on what would have been their 27th wedding anniversary. He took to Instagram and shared a picture with Sridevi and wrote in the caption, “1996 2nd June we got married in Shirdi, today we complete 27yrs”
Sridevi and Boney’s elder daughter Janhvi Kapoor is already an actor in Bollywood, and their younger daughter Khushi will soon make her acting debut with Netflix’s The Archies.
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First published on: 10-06-2023 at 09:29 IST