How I Got Into Bollywood Photography
To a photographer, nothing is more fulfilling than to see your work in print. My work was recently published in a book created by Escaype, a precious photography community in the Bay Area. The assignment was to tell a crazy “hero story” — a story about my hardest earned shot. I don’t remember ever risking my life to get a shot or anything, but I do hope that this story inspires someone who has a dream and feels like their dream would never come true.
In July 2016, I had a dream: to shoot a Bollywood concert. Bollywood musicians and actors frequently visit the Bay Area for live concerts, and I wanted to shoot one of them. It would enhance my portfolio, and I’d get to experience my favorite artists perform from up close-who are otherwise quite inaccessible.
So, I wrote down a goal: Photograph one Bollywood event. But how, though? I had zero connections, zero experience shooting concerts, and absolutely nothing related to concerts to show on my portfolio! But that didn’t stop me from dreaming. I looked up all the upcoming concerts and sent cold emails (and text messages) to the event organizers-telling them that I would get them really good photos and that I’d do it for free. In the next few weeks, I learned what it feels like to be ignored! But, one day, I got a text from an event organizer: “Swami, do you want to cover the Nargis Fakhri concert?” Nargis is a good-looking Bollywood actress-not a superstar-but an emerging actress, and hey I’ll take it!
My first concert: filled with fear and performance anxiety (because I had no clue how to shoot concerts), I went to the venue early. A senior photographer (Kamran Rehman) was setting up his gear. I asked him: “Hey so what do I need to do? What kind of shots do they expect?” He said: “Swami, just do your thing.” Those words felt so comforting, and it was a lesson for me: when you’re leading someone, the best thing that you can do for them is to remove any feeling of pressure, and put them at ease. That’s when you get the best out of them. Now that I knew I could just do my thing, I felt free to explore, experiment, and enjoy the shoot.
The shots came out great. The event organizer liked my work. I’d say it was a success. But now, my next challenge: another concert, and this time it was seven actors, and some of them super famous. I really wanted this gig. But given how big this event was, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy-especially because I had just one concert to show on my portfolio. It was a different event organizer this time. I called him: “Hey, can I cover your event? I promise to get you amazing shots (a bit more confident this time).” He was blunt: “No.” I said: “Listen, I did the shoot for the Nargis event. I worked with Star Events (not the real name). I thought it might add credibility. He said: “No. We don’t work with anyone who works with Star Events.” I didn’t expect his response. I tried downplaying my involvement with Star Events. “See, I don’t work for them…I just volunteer.” “No. We don’t work with anyone who is associated with Star Events.”
I didn’t know there was so much hatred! Dejected, I hung up and scratched my head-what next? I had an idea. The band was touring six other cities-why not try one of the other cities…so, I called the organizer in New Jersey. “Hey can I cover your event? I’ll do it for free, I’ll get you amazing shots, and I’ll fly over on my own expense.” She said: “No, we have our own photographers. You have to call the organizer in your local chapter.” I then tried the other cities but got the same response from everyone-that I’d have to call the organizer in my local chapter. But, I already did that right, and that was a dead-end-the guy already said he didn’t want to work with me!
Oh well…it wasn’t meant to be this time. At least, I gave it my best shot. But …a day before the event, the local organizer calls me. “Swami, you wanted to cover the event right? Come to my office in the evening.” Wait…what? The guy didn’t want to work with me, and out of the blue, he calls me? I went to his office. “Swami, we won’t be paying you. Why do you want to do this shoot?” I said: “It’s not about the money. Photography is my passion, and I know I can get you some good shots.” He said: “Ok, you can do it, but, could you also cover the Meet and Greet event for the VIP guests?” He gave me an All-Access pass, which meant I could shoot from anywhere as long as I was willing to deal with the security folks (at the Oracle Arena). The shoot went great, and with this event, my concert portfolio was starting to look much better. Getting access to subsequent events was not a battle anymore. And I met some very helpful people along the way who championed my work to event organizers around town.
My goal was to shoot one Bollywood concert. That year, and the following year, I shot: Nargis Fakhri, Ayushmann Khuranna, Sunidhi Chauhan, Atif Aslam, Sonu Nigam, Madhuri Dixit, Shreya Goshal, Ilayaraja (India’s Mozart), Chitra, Singer Karthik, Drummer Sivamani, Prakash Raj, Katrina Kaif, Alia Bhatt, Karan Johar, Siddharth Malhotra, Salman Khan, Varun Dhawan, Prabhudeva (India’s Michael Jackson), Badshah, Maniesh Paul, Jacqueline Fernandez, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditya Roy Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra. If you are from India, you know the names.
When you want to achieve something, don’t stop yourself from trying because you don’t know how to achieve it. Or that you think you’re incapable. Or that you think it’s out of your reach. Or that you think it’s too ambitious. Or that you think it’s a silly dream that would never happen.
Just write it down. And then go after it.
Originally published at http://www.swamiphotography.com on November 15, 2020.
