Deepti Naval proves her acumen in photography

Naval, who has earned critical acclaim by her acting in art films such as Prakash Jha-directed national award winning Damul and Buddhadeb Dasgupta's first Hindi movie Andhi Gali and more recently in a cross-over project Freaky Chakra, has proved her acumen as a photographer also.

That is the impression one gets after watching the 33 photographs, she has clicked during her trek in the mighty Himalayas, which are on show in solo exhibition.

The photographs in the exhibition are the result of the actress' love for adventure, something she first tasted on a trip to the famous trekking spots in Himachal Pradesh way back in 1995.

The photos, both in colour and black and white, bring out with vivacity the rugged beauty of Zanskar Valley surrounded by snow-covered barren mountains, which constitute the desolate cold desert of Ladakh.

Naval had undertaken the journey to Zanskar Valley in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir in January this year when the temperature there hovers below minus 15 degrees celsius and Zanskar river is frozen allowing people to walk over it, albeit with risk.

Helped by two porters, she trekked for six days, living on only dry food. On a few occasions, she also cooked the food for herself as the photographs show.

Naval, a half-Punjabi and half-Dogri (a language spoken in parts of Jammu region), terms her adventure as a "stimulating" experience and is looking forward to exploring other parts of Ladakh.

The actress is not content with the photographs only. She also wants to pen down the experience of her trekking across the Himalayas.

Naval is in Mumbai only when she has an acting assignment in movies. But will the call of the Himalayas prevail over acting? "No," is the firm answer from the actress.

Her penchant for being behind the camera is not confined to still photos. She says, she is looking forward to either directing or producing a film.