As someone passionate about documentary photography, it was an honor to meet acclaimed photographer Dilip V. Bhatia in Mumbai a few weeks back. Bhatia, who is also one of India’s best commercial and editorial photographers, was photographing the billboard images for season 2 of Master Chef India, which my dear friend Vikas Khanna is hosting.
1 1. Blind children from the Happy Home and School for the Blind
2 2. Blind children from the Happy Home and School for the Blind
3 3. From the series Death of Emotion
4 4. From the series Death of Emotion
5 5. Dilip Bhatia in his studio.
6 6. An amazing landscape from Ladahk.
His spacious and beautifully designed D Studio n Gallery studio in South Mumbai, which has been in operation for over 15 years, was bustling with activity. Great American 80’s and 90’s music soared as food stylists, wardrobe artists, and lighting assistants ran around to make everything as perfect as possible. Bhatia, hard at work, remained ubber-focused, calm, and collected for hours.
D Studio’s walls are neatly adorned with a wide array of Bhatia’s work. There are stunning portraits of India’s great film heroes and heroines (Indians tend to say film “hero” as opposed to “star”), such as Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, and Kareena Kapoor. There are decadent landscapes of Ladakh, as well as majestic, painterly portraits of horses. What attracted me most, however, was his eerie, provocative, and still shockingly decadent documentary work.
As Bhatia later told a small group of us over a photo slideshow on his iPad, his personal work has been taking on an ever-increasing socially conscious voice. Such was so evident in three of his recent series. One of these projects, which he won the 2011 Photographer of the Year title in the worldwide Prix de la Photography contest, documented the daily life of children at the Happy Home and School for the Blind in Mumbai. What I esteem most about the breathtaking images, a few of which are included here, is the fact that Bhatia does not emphasize blindness as a disability, but instead questions how it might even nurture alternative abilities. The photos are not exploitative nor solely pity provoking, but instead inspiring, thought provoking, and, at times, uplifting.
Another of the former Playboy photographer’s recent series entitled Death of Emotion creatively tackles the prospective numbing of feeling from being constantly confronted with others' hardships in a city like Mumbai. He and his assistants staged intricately orchestrated photographs using the street and mannequins, such as the 2 images of beggars included here. In my opinion, the success of these images is in their ability to defy the series title.
Bhatia also shared a sneak preview of an upcoming project focusing on the notorious Falkland Road, Mumbai’s prostitution central. I almost feel guilty stating how decadent his images of this less savory place are. Though reminiscent of Mary Ellen Mark’s brave and unprecedented 1981 book Falkland Road, they also take on an entirely unique dimension.
I commend Dilip Bhatia on his masterful work, from a technical, commercial, and socially concerned standpoint. It is rare a gift to tackle all this with such skill and professionalism. I look forward to seeing Bhatia’s future projects and the social reform they can promote.
To see Dilip’s personal work, please visit http://www.dstudiongallery.com.
For his commercial site, which is also stunning, visit http://www.dilipbhatia.com/.
Sophie Herbert is an alignment focused yoga teacher (and perpetual student), a singer-songwriter, and a visual artist. She has lived, studied, and volunteered extensively in India; teaches yoga in Brooklyn and Manhattan; and recently released her first full-length album, "Take a Clear Look." Please visit her website at SophieHerbert.com.
