Glitz, glam & everydayness

Veteran photojournalist Fawzan Husain’s coffee table book captures life beyond the film sets, and looks at how Bollywood forms an integral part of our lives

Three years after his much-acclaimed coffee table book Between Mumbai and Bombay that captures the nuances of the metropolis, veteran photojournalist Fawzan Husain decided to delve into Bollywood as his next subject. The Silver Screen and Beyond: Up Close and Personal with the Bollywood film industry is an offshoot of 12 years of rigorous hard work.

Why settle for one when you can say a thousand with each click. Incidentally, Fawzan was a journalist before he decided to switch to the camera. “I wanted to be a writer and was a journalist for over seven months. During that time, I realised that my stories would often be cut down to make space for advertisements. That’s when I decided to be a photographer. Stories can be cut, but a picture has to be published in its full,” Fawzan says.

Being on the sets of Bollywood gave him a different perspective of the glitzy world, and his quest began with Govind Nihalani’s Dev. “I was helping the art director set up a riot scene — burnt houses, broken bottles and coordinating the nitty gritty. I asked them if I can get my camera and they obliged. I had only seen the glorified version of Bollywood till then, but being on the sets showed me a different world and a very different angle too. This is when I decided to explore more sets; I even gifted Govind a small book of the pictures I clicked on the sets of Dev,” he reminisces.

The industry is an integral part of the people in the country — from the kites, the melas, the barber’s shop to the toilets; Fawzan has captured it all. “India is so fascinated with Bollywood, you’ll see filmstars in small shops and shanties, barber shops, Bollywood stars are omnipresent.”

An endeavour that went on for over 12 years had its share of hardships too. “It was difficult to convince production houses. If I would ask eight production houses, one would agree,” he says. In spite of the hard knocks, Fawzan managed to cover over 88 sets.

From shooting Kareena Kapoor preparing for a shot in Chameli, to spot boys escorting Sunny Leone for a shot in Ek Paheli Leela, Fawzan has managed to juxtapose the glitz and glamour of Bollywood with the original toilers — the workforce. “Bollywood has taught me to be immensely patient, I have seen people waiting for the actors for many hours before they finally come on the sets, I did not need the actors, but ultimately they were the ones who gave that adrenaline rush,” he says.