Eeshna Dashottar and Khushi Maheshwari, Pune
The Symbiosis School of Visual Arts and Photography (SSVAP) organized a special session on photography on the 23rd of August 2023 in the Convention Centre of the Lavale campus. The speaker session was the first of a series of events lined up to commemorate the late photographer Gautam Rajadhyaksha- the force behind the creation of SSVAP. The guest speaker for the session was Mr. Avinash Gowariker- an ace celebrity photographer who has done shoots for countless popular movies such as- Dangal, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, and Mohenjo Daro to name a few.
The session commenced with an opening address by Dr. Vidya Yeravdekar the Pro-Chancellor of Symbiosis International University wherein she spoke about her fond as well as bittersweet memories of Mr. Gautam Rajadhyaksha- how he was like an elder brother to her, how his passing in September 2011- a few days before his birthday which was, in turn, the inaugural day for the SSVAP institute- came as a shock to her and her family, and finally how SSVAP is his dream that got materialized.
Mr. Avinash took to the podium to share pearls of wisdom with budding photographers, journalists, and filmmakers. Addressing Dr. Vidya he expresses how tumultuous Mr. Gautam’s demise was for him as well since to him he was like a God.
He went on to elucidate how most of his “complexes” relating to photography went away after his encounter with Gautam in his studio which was just a small bedroom in his house because that was when he realized that you do not need expensive equipment to be a good photographer you just need vision. Moving further he emphasized the need to have good communication skills as a portrait photographer and even suggested that SSVAP should have a separate course for the same. From his fear of teachers to his love for technology and getting a separate feature for taking publicity stills for Sooraj Barjatya’s ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’, Mr. Avinash spoke about a wide range of topics and personal experiences.
After the speech, an interactive Q&A session with Mr Avinash Gowariker took place which was moderated by Dr. Gagan Prakash, Director of SSVAP. Dr Gagan asked Gowarikar a series of questions that gave the audience insights into the real-life practice of photography as a profession and some wonderful life experiences of Avinash Gowarikar in the industry. On being asked about what he falls back on for support in his difficult times, Gowariker humbly put forth his faith in God as his support that kept him away from all struggles, calling it his luck that he experienced no difficult times with god’s grace on him. Avinash Gowariker also spoke about his perspective on senior professionals in the field, refraining from addressing them as “old people” and taking the example of the legendary Mr. Amitabh Bachchan as someone who beats the stereotypes of old age.
Mr Gowariker also responded to questions from students and faculty and gave them valuable tips on how to reach celebrity photographers for assistance work, the importance of being different in the time of excess presence of visuals on all platforms and social media, techniques in photography like shooting around mirrors, AI as a competitor and more.
The session came to an end with a vote of thanks by Dr Rajani Gupte, Vice Chancellor of Symbiosis International (Deemed University). She extended her heartfelt gratitude to Mr Avinash Gowariker for gracing the occasion and sharing his valuable experience with the students. She thanked Mr Gowariker for making the first lecture under the Gautam Rajadhyaksha Memorial Lecture memorable and extended hope for welcoming him again on the campus soon.