Capturing hidden moments with a camera

The director (3-R) and crew on the sets of Oyee Jamuna

Taken in both black-and-white and colour media, the photographs depict the different phases of the process of making a film. A number of pictures capture the director dressed in photographer's jacket and a hat discussing different aspects of the films and explaining the shots to the actors and crew. Photographs show Tanvir planning shots of Oyee Jamuna and Lalon with the famous cinematographer Anowar Hossain.

The display contains the photograph of the first "take" of the film Lalon, in which Raisul Islam Asad, portraying the role of the mystique bard, is walking through a village path with a disciple, and an Ektara in his hand.

The photographs not only speak of the labour undertaken, but also tell of some happy moments of love and leisure. Lalon's art director Uttam Guha and costume designer Chitralekha Guha feature in a photograph--the celebrated couple's gestures surely proclaiming contentment in their work. A photograph captures the director with his crew of Oyee Jamuna in a moment of respite after the whole day's work.

Pierre Claquin's photographs are not just documentary in nature, they also delineate the cohesiveness that Tanvir Mokammel's team has come to possess throughout the years of working together. What is noteworthy about Claquin's photographs is that the canvas of most of his pictures is panoramic, keeping a stark resemblance with Tanvir's films. His subject is the entire scene rather than any particular person, which helps him depict even the smallest aspects of the events. A few portraits of director Tanvir Mokammel, crew and actors of the films, however, fall into the genre of portrait photography.

The exhibition runs till January 24.