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What does an honest portrait look like in an age of filters and carefully curated identities? For veteran photographer Atul Kasbekar, it begins in the quiet moments when performance falls away and the person beneath comes into view. That idea formed the foundation of his first solo portrait exhibition — ‘HONEST: Portraits of Character’, held at Jio World Plaza, featured 56 intimate portraits of some of Indian cinema’s celebrated character actors. Drawing on over three decades behind the camera, Kasbekar invited viewers to look past the familiar faces and discover the humanity, vulnerability and lived experiences etched within them.
During a conversation, Kasbekar revealed why he considers filters the enemy of portraiture and what makes character actors the finest performers.
Mona Singh | Photo Credit: Courtesy: Atul Kasbekar
What does ‘Honest’ mean to you and what inspired this body of work?
To me, an honest portrait is one where the face has earned the right to look exactly as it does. Every wrinkle, line and scar has clocked in years of service. Why would I photoshop someone’s autobiography? The idea came from spending years on film sets. I’d watch actors in those quiet moments before the words — ‘action’ or just after ‘cut’. That’s when the performance disappeared and the person briefly appeared. I wanted to photograph that person. Remove performance to reveal character.
Why did you choose to focus on character actors for your first portrait exhibition? What do these artistes represent beyond their work on screen?
Quite simply because they’re the best in the business. Having produced films myself, I’ve spent many hours behind a monitor watching them perform. Their precision, restraint and emotional intelligence is something I don’t think audiences fully appreciate because they make it all look so effortless. This exhibition is my quiet standing ovation to these artistes, who have spent decades making everyone else look good. It was about time they took centre stage.
Sunil Grover | Photo Credit: Courtesy: Atul Kasbekar
Was there any surprise element while working on this series?
The biggest surprise was discovering how quickly, or how late, the masks came off. Actors spend their lives pretending to be other people. Ironically, asking them to simply be themselves seemed far more challenging. Some chatted incessantly. Others barely spoke. A few closed their eyes between frames as if they were resetting. Every one found their own rhythm. As a photographer, those are the moments you live for.
Satish Shah | Photo Credit: Courtesy: Atul Kasbekar
Is there one image that holds a special place for you?
Without hesitation, Satish Shah. I’d known Satish long before I went away to study photography at the Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, California, in the mid-1980s, so we were friends already. That comfort comes forth in the portrait. None of us knew then that it would be the last time he would be photographed. Looking back, the image carries a weight that it simply didn’t have on the day it was taken.
Photography has this strange ability to freeze a moment that only reveals its true significance years later. For me, that portrait has become less about Satish, the actor and more about Satish the friend. That’s what makes it impossible for me to look at it objectively. It will always be my favourite.
English (US) ·