OFF THE SILVER SCREEN

A new volume looks at the Indian filmmaking world through the lens of Josef Wirsching 

- Suhani Singh

When it comes to literature on Indian cinema, cinematographers have been overlooked in favour of actors, filmmakers and musicians. Which is why Bombay Talkies: An Unseen History of Indian Cinema is a rare, treasured volume, for it offers cinephiles a glimpse of filmmaking through the gaze of a cinematographer: German lensman Josef Wirsching, who worked with the iconic Bombay Talkies studio from its inception in 1934 until its dissolution in 1954. For editor Debashree Mukherjee, associate professor, Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies, Columbia University, it made anchoring this project all the more enticing. "A focus on cinematographers is both overdue and can tell us some very surprising things about the history of Indian cinema," she wrote from New York. "Our goal was to publicly present, and critically analyse, Josef Wirsching's contributions to Indian cinema. At the same time, unpack the historical significance of this astonishing archive of photographs that he has left behind."

One has to thank Wirsching's son, Peter, and his grandsons, Josef and Georg, for preserving the photographs and negatives for nearly eight decades as the family moved across India. The Alkazi Foundation later stepped up to restore the collection digitally. The black-and-white photographs include umpteen film stills but it's the behind-the-scenes shots capturing filmmaking in pre-Independence India and candid takes that stand out.