Jayesh Sheth shares with us experiences from his almost three decade long journey - what it takes to survive and leave a mark in the gilded world of the Hindi filmmaking industry. From working with a star’s ‘image’ to bringing out ‘what lies underneath’ - having witnessed it all first hand, this year’s recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for lifetime contribution to Indian Cinema talks about his inspirations, work mantra and what keeps him going.

Mega Modelz: Being the recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award this year for lifetime contribution to Indian Cinema, when you look back, what is the one memory that you cherish the most?

Jayesh: When I went to receive the award from Dharamji, I asked him ‘Do you remember when I did your first photo shoot?’ He was confused and he couldn’t recollect, so he asked me to remind him. So I said, ‘When your movie Shalimar came with Zeent Aman, I had shot both of you very closely. I had started my career during the 1980s. ’ He could not believe it. He said ‘my god you are as ever green as me’. That is my most cherished memory.

MM: What was the driving force behind you taking up photography as a career?

Jayesh: Direction. I always wanted to be a director and I took up the medium of photography because I was obsessed with Satyajit Ray sahib and I learnt that he too started out as a still photographer. It was through the still camera that he could visualise the blockings, which really mattered to me. I understood the blockings, the composition, the lighting and the need to have complete command over them if you have to say an entire story through one frame.

 MM: From still photography, to direction to cinema, you have done it all. Which is your most preferred medium to work with?

Jayesh: You can’t compare any of these because even film photography is such a beautiful medium to express your thoughts through one frame. With a model or without a model, you canalways tell a story.Like recently, I met Deepti Naval during a shoot and she was such a great help in my award function. She showed me pictures that I had shot of Smita Patil, Shabana and Deepti together for an annual cover in ’81 and looking back at all three -the best actresses of art cinema who had contributed to the best of the new wave to the industry, filled me with a sense of nostalgia. I still remember how we portrayed the three ‘non glamorous’ actresses as ‘glamorous’ actresses with bare shoulders and cleavage showing.Everybody had something hidden and I always wanted to experiment on the thing that was hidden. Re discover yourself. That was always a part of my thought process.

MM: How did you make your way into Bollywood? Was it a conscious decision or did you stumble into it accidentally?

Jayesh: From my school days I was highly obsessed with films. You know Gulzar sahib’s Achanak; Sound of music, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest- those where the stories that used to influence me heavily. From the framework to the story telling as well from the acting pointof view, both Hollywood and Bollywood were tremendous influences. Gulam and Kagaz Ke Phool where tremendous inspirations in terms of street photography as well as story telling photography and direction. As a child I wanted to be a part of this world desperately, but I didn’t know which route to apply, which way to go.

MM: You mentioned you were heavily influenced with 'One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest'  too, then what made you chose to stay here and not go to Hollywood instead?

Jayesh: Because I was conditioned within Bollywood and even here there were so many favourites of mine. So I thought let me try Bollywood and then maybe I’ll go to Hollywood. That day came when I had to shoot Richard Gere and Goldie Hawn.

MM: As someone who has been in the industry for so long, what are the changes that have come about in terms of ‘cinema images’ in Bollywood?

Jayesh: Technically we have advanced. Technical convenience is much higher today than it was before. However, the soul that old cinema had in terms of story telling, seems to have been lost.Today when I watch cinema, it’s like pop corn, you just enjoy it for a while. Three days people talk about it but in the fourth day people forget it.That is the sad part.

MM: Has globalisation in any way also led to a commercialisation in the industry that wasn't there before? Has it been repackaged to appeal to a larger audience?

Jayesh: Audience, of course. In terms of globalisation, audience has played a very important part because today the way we have an overseas market and the festivals- the exposure has become very wide. You just can’t afford to have a short term gaze you need to have a long term gaze because you're responsible for a large audience now; you are not just responsible for basic multiplexes.

MM: What is the environment like in the international market for fashion/film photographers from India?

Jayesh: In terms of fashion photography it’s very tough. When I went to Paris a couple of times I realised that their work culture is very different. Everything involves to a large amount of paper work. Here we are not used to the client coming on the shoot; there the client is a regular figure. When I was assisting a photographer once, he shot the entire project in two hours but he told me that to execute that entire shoot it took him two months. And he was paid for the two
months. For the rekey, the location hunting, the pre shoot prepping- all of it. This is not possible in India because here the people are always worried about the costing and the budget.

MM: Who amongst the contemporary actors of today would you consider the most camera friendly?

Jayesh: Ranbir Kapoor for sure. He is very camera friendly and even, Kareena is amazing in front of the camera

MM: Out of all the actors and models that you’ve worked with, who have you enjoyed shooting the most?

Jayesh: Rekha ji (laughs). She is the only one that I have worked with continuously for 12 years.There was not a single month when we didn't shoot. The maximum numbers of pictures in her collection are mine.
 

MM: Do stereotypes (in terms of themes in an image) in the industry stifle creative freedom for a photographer?
 

Jayesh: In terms of creative freedom, it is up to the photographer to be honest. See stars whom I have worked with, I have taken enough freedom. I was working with Shah Rukh for ‘Josh’, which was an action movie where Shah Rukh just wanted to maintain a romantic image. A star’s image is very important for his fan following, so you should be creative keeping ‘the image’ in mind.How you get them out of the box, out of a certain mindset is up to you. It’s a process in which you have to be very communicative. And I was very open with him (Shah Rukh) all day, and asked him for a degree of liberty, which he was ready to grant. I told him that I wanted a shot with lots of attitude and just a trickle of blood running from his nose and him wiping it with his thumb. He loved the concept which had both the drama of action without showing actual action or bloodshed.

MM: Do you prefer working in a studio or outdoors? Which is your favourite shoot till date?

Jayesh: I love both, I enjoy both. The only thing that’s boring for me is backdrops. I hate those white and black backgrounds.One of my shoots with Amtabh Bachchan is my favourite. It was right after he had gotten out ofthe hospital from his long injury during shooting Coolie, where he was finally returning to the shooting area after 8 months and he was very conscious because this was the first that that he was coming in front of the media after his injury. I was given the responsibility to conceptualiseand decide what his image would be like on the cover. I remember we went to a Bombay highway and Mr. Bachchan was in a white suit leaning against the railing with the entire landscape in the background. The entire road was however blocked by truck drivers and tourists all trying to steal a glimpse of the star and I was being pushed from every side. I could barely get him in the frame. So some how we got out of that situation and settled to shoot in the ‘Preview theatre’ instead. He (Amitabh Bachchan) sat wrapped in a shawl, with all the seats around him empty.That was a cover titled ‘One is a lonely number’.

MM: Do you plan how a shoot should look before hand, or do you go with the flow?

Jayesh: When the shot starts, my visuals start working. Say tomorrow I have a shoot; then my mind starts working keeping the person in focus from today. If we have to do a shoot with a model, his or her visuals start hitting me. I start working according to their body language and trying to uncover what is underneath.BBC did this beautiful assignment where they brought me a girl from Meera Road, they just told me that she wanted to do a photo shoot with me and with my permission they would like to shoot it as a documentary for BBC. So I told them I would definitely love to shoot her, but if she didn’t inspire me, it wouldn’t work and I’d tell them straight away.

They loved my honesty and brought the girl to my studio. When the girl entered the studio she was very ordinary, with no dressing sense, very uninspiring. Right when I was about to say no, she looked so miserable, her eyes were so expressive that they inspired me in the last moment and I agreed to do the shoot. I did a makeover of hers and given how she was not very well off, I told her to pick up a few roadside clothes. And till today I think that is one of the best looks I’ve ever had on a shoot that I have ever portrayed in my life.They ended up showing the documentary on national geographic as well and that girl ended up being groomed by the BBC and she is in the UK right now. It was destined.

MM: What would you say are the qualities that draw the line between a good photographer and a great photographer?

Jayesh: A good photographer can take technically good pictures but a great photographer gets to the depth of the picture and says everything in one shot.

MM: Any advice for people aspiring to be photographers in Bollywood?

Jayesh: I would love to tell them to work with their own convictions and not to get influenced by copies and references. Don’t change your thoughts. Just maintain your own flow. People should copy you, you shouldn’t copy people. You picture should be a benchmark.

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Photo Source &Credit : Jayesh Sheth

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