The vibrant colors of life...
I was shooting publicity stills for 'Coffeshop'-my close friend Ishaan Dutta's film in Goa, when I came across this amazingly vibrant rag-picker who was busy collecting thrown away plastic bottles from the set.
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As usual,I couldn’t find my lighter, so asked this woman for a match box to light up my cigarette. She passed on the match box, giving me a casual indifferent look -completely ignoring the expensive camera in my hand. And that does hurt my pride once in a while-not that I am a show off-but it did take a lot to buy that one n deserved a longer look from anyone!
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Goa is a heaven for tourists’ n film-makers …and the locals are quite used to people carrying heavy equipment around. So it was ok I guess to be ignored like that...(and if you are in India n not been to Goa- you surely are missing something)
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However I loved her energy,body language n what she was wearing- the nice vibrant colors with all that metallic stuff around her neck, hands n feet. Quite a fashion statement actually! I wanted to shoot a pic but she wasn’t just in a mood and won’t smile. She asked me why I wanted to shoot her- I looked at her n said ‘because you got a more beautiful smile than the heroine in the film and I am going to ask the director to cast you in his next film’.
Now, who doesn’t want to feel good even if it’s a good joke! She just won't stop laughing after that- and I even noticed a hint of shyness spreading across her wrinkled face.
After that we had a few nice laughs n a few good pics.
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I showed her the pics in the camera- she called her friends around, quite excited like a little girl ( I had to show them all one by one!) n finally said to me-
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“ tu photo achee kheenchta hai”- (you take good photos...)
I hope she wasn't joking this time- it somehow always feels good to hear that!
Comments
But, now that you have written in your post that this photograph was shot in Goa, the feel of Goa seems to be missing from it. The photograph could easily have passed as one shot in Rajasthan.I feel, just one small thought that a more green background would have been better. Secondly, the rag bag is missing. These have nothing to do with the quality of your photography, it is simply superb. Just that the photograph would have blended better with the text in the post.
thanks for your observation...these kind of pictures are unplanned n random, where the impulsive reaction is to capture the mood n the moment n not really the back ground- so wht u see u shoot- n yes the rag bag in the pic perhaps would have added more to it, though there are more in the series where its there, but i found her laughter the best in this pic so i put it up...
i appreciate ur comment n observation...