Inside The Mind's Eye

It is not only about photography for Pranab Gandhi, who needs to picturise the overall campaign before clicking shots. In a short conversation with the dynamic fashion photographer Ayesha Sultana Mohiuddin Gopalan receives a glimpse into what goes on behind the camera…

- Ayesha Sultana Mohiuddin Gopalan

WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY?

I actually never wanted to be a Fashion Photographer. I always wanted to direct films. But in 2001, while trying to make my mark as a film writer, in an extremely conservative industry where newcomers were not too welcome, I would have to attend several film writing workshops to better my skills. To get to them, I would use the railway foot bridge at Ville Parle where I often came across an advertisement of a retail garment brand. This ad showcased a family photo for a showroom nearby that catered to family clothing. But the image and the layout, I somehow felt, could have been presented in a much more attractive manner.

So, on a fine Monday morning I decided to take a slight detour and visit the owner of the showroom. I walked in while the shop was in the middle of an accounting session and immediately decided to speak with its owner. He was kind enough to entertain me. I told him of the advertisement displayed at the station and said that I could do a better job of it. He agreed so I asked him to just give me money for the roll and that I would arrange for a good photographer and cinch together an image worthy of the site. That was the beginning of my career.