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rkbahuja · 7 years

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Women have today rattled the glass ceiling in fields that were generally perceived to be male-dominated. You name it, and there’s a woman or several women leading. Cinematography is one such field, an integral part of the film industry, where the presence of women is getting noticed. Being a ‘Director of Photography’ is generally considered to be more of a man’s job, regardless of the fact that women DOPs have been in the field for decades. Though initially few in numbers, the strength is growing by the minute and celebrating this growth is the Indian Women Cinematographers’ Collective, (IWCC). An initiative started by noted Cinematographer Fowzia Fathima is now growing in numbers and strength. The core ideology of the collective being – celebrating, encouraging and supporting the work and vision of women cinematographers.

“The notion that women cinematographers are a rarity was widespread in the industry. Whenever a new project was launched or a film was released, the question asked was ‘Oh, you are the only woman cinematographer,’ regardless of who the woman was. Till 2010 it was the same case and it was something that I thought wasn’t true and this question wasn’t giving the correct picture. Through this collective, we will know that woman cinematographers are not in small numbers. As of date, we are 73 cinematographers across the country and it is imperative that we project that out and let people know that it is acceptable to come across more women behind the camera. This is the whole idea behind the collective, to change the perception of the people and that is why the initiative took place,” says Fowzia.

Fowzia Fathima

The need to connect with like-minded professionals was another aspect that drove Fowzia to form IWCC. “I felt we had to connect with women who are experiencing the same kind of situations in the field of cinematography, otherwise everybody is working in isolation and doing their own bit.”

A simple Facebook page started by Fowzia was responsible in the formation of the IWCC. On the occasion of International Women’s Day (March 8, 2017) they formally announced the formation of the Indian Women Cinematographers’ Collective. Their website (www.iwcc.in), which is currently underway, will act as a database for women cinematographers to share their work.

Giving more insights on the collective is Cinematographer Savita Singh who has shot spectacular films like Hawaizaada and Ventilator. “The collective’s prime objective is to encourage excellence in the art of cinematography, to inspire and encourage future female cinematographers and to affect change in the industry in the numbers, status and working practices for women professionals in the future.”

The whole idea behind the collective is to change the perception of the people

Savita Singh

Along with Savita, some of the most prolific women cinematographers have come together to support the IWCC, one such member being Ms. B. R. Vijayalakshmi, who is not only the first Indian woman cinematographer but also the first Asian woman cinematographer. Having entered the industry back in 1980s, she shares her experience, “In the 80s, women on the sets were restricted to actors, choreographers, hair stylists etc. There were no women cinematographers then. But the industry has changed so much over these years.”

B. R. Vijayalakshmi

Those were also challenging times for a woman cinematographer. “There were a few people who felt that a woman could not shoot an entire film alone. The same people have also been free with their praises after I shot about ten films.” Further talking about facing limitations based on her gender, Vijayalakshmi adds, “There were some limitations based on gender, for example, standing chest deep in a river for the whole day, shooting on all the wrong days of the month, isn’t exactly a pleasant experience for a woman, but it’s all in the game! I have never made excuses till date about not being able to stand long hours and work just because I am a woman. To the contrary, I was firm that I would be the last to fall.”

The Collective makes people wake up to the fact that women are behind cameras and creating brilliant work

Providing a man’s perspective on this issue of gender disparity is another brilliant Cinematographer, Siddharth Diwan. “The disparity is all around us. In the past I’ve had an instance where one of the guys from the team came up to me and asked me why I had a girl in my team; he said that I shouldn’t have girls in a camera team. But I automatically reject such statements because I work with a lot of women in the camera department,” says Siddharth.

Siddharth Diwan

But the industry is undergoing a change as Savita points out, “Today women are receiving more opportunities and appreciation for their work. Directors and producers seek out women cinematographers for their skills and love for the craft across films and commercials. The numbers are going up. There are a talented female cinematographers working in big films, commercials and documentaries.”

There were a few people who felt that a woman could not shoot an entire film alone

And the IWCC is slowly but steadily creating awareness regarding women DOPs in the industry. “There are people who are actually unaware of this fact, they are okay with this disparity, and they are okay with how things are, so a collective like this is imperative for people who are ignorant and unaware. It makes them look at things from a different perspective and forces them to wake up to the fact that women are behind cameras and creating brilliant work. This collective gets that point to the foreground,” shares Siddharth.

Besides creating awareness, there are plenty of opportunities that the collective has to offer. “There are cinematographers of different levels who are part of the collective. From women who are working on their first project to experienced professionals, there are women from different walks of life. Therefore, somebody will always be available to answer queries or doubts and help each other out. One can build their network and even look out for internship opportunities,” elaborates Fowzia. Adding to this Savita says, “The IWCC will function as a nurturing space to empower female cinematographers to further develop their skills through interactions, one-to-one mentorship and sharing experiences.”

IWCC is one-of-a-kind platform in India and such initiatives are extremely crucial for not just the film industry to progress, but our society as a whole. Emphasizing on the importance of IWCC, Vijayalakshmi says, “I think IWCC is a wonderful initiative and I am truly honored and blessed to be part of the Collective. It’s so easy to be able to discover and appreciate what other women DOPs are doing all over India. I think it is an important platform to showcase to the world the wonderful array of work that women DOPs do in India.”

Another vital person who reiterates the significance of the initiative is renowned Cinematographer Anil Mehta, President of WICA (Western Indian Cinematographers’ Association). “The formation of IWCC is a proud moment for Indian Cinematography and for the film community. To have so many women at the helm and ‘rocking it’ is a sign that we are a robust Industry.” He also adds, “The vision that women cinematographers will bring to their work and to our films will ultimately be the legacy that will count.”

Anil Mehta

Since the establishment of the IWCC, the collective has received a great response and immense support from across the globe. “We have received unconditional support from the Indian Society of Cinematographers (ISC), Western India Cinematographers’ Association (WICA) and Southern India Cinematographers’ Association (SICA). As the news spread, we also got connected to international female cinematographer bodies like ICFC (International Collective of Female Cinematographers – a US based international body of female DP’s) and Illiminatrix (UK based female cinematographer database) who have congratulated us on our initiative,” says an elated Savita.

The vision that women cinematographers will bring to their work and to our films will ultimately be the legacy that will count

The collective is going strong and Fowzia is certain about its expansion. “The growth is inevitable; as of today the number is more than 73 and within this year I can see the number going up to 100. Then there will also be another set of girls who would be passing out from their institutes and coming into the field. From our side, we are trying to reach as many people as possible, we are trying to spread the message that you can access us and be part of this collective where our aim is to celebrate our work.”

Pandolin applauds this initiative and wishes it all the success. More power to IWCC!

Meet the other members of the IWCC

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Ranu Ghosh

Deepti Gupta

Archana Borhade

Abheri De

Vatsala Goel

Sabina Gadihoke

Priya Seth

Preetha Jayaraman

Pooja Gupte

Neha Parti Matiyani

Modhura Palit

IWCC - Celebrating Women Cinematographers Women have today rattled the glass ceiling in fields that were generally perceived to be male-dominated. You name it, and there's a woman or several women leading.

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ltrmagazine · 7 years

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Upcoming attraction: Badrinath ki Dulhania

Badrinath ki Dulhania is going to make this Holi more colourful and fun-filled. Followed by its first instalment of Humpty Sharma ki Dulhaniya, the promo of this movie promises to take us to the same fun spree as its predecessor did. Produced under the banner of Dharma Productions, this movie stars Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan in the lead roles with Gauhar Khan, Aakanksha Singh, Shweta Basu Prasad and Rituraj Singh among others. As the name suggests this movie once again follows the age-old theme of the guy following the girl to impress her and get married to her, but in a side splitting way. This movie showcases stalking in an amusing way and Alia’s perfect response to it makes it much more laudable. She is not shown as a scared woman, but one who stands against the hero and threatens him to turn him to the police. She questions his accounting skills and turns him away as he is not educated. All this is depicted in a hilarious manner. Both Alia and Varun have presented their dauntless acting skills (Varun has remarkably improved his acting skills and is nothing like Dilwale). The two of them perfectly enact the UP accent as if they own it making it more appreciable. The ‘Tamma Tamma’ song and the music of the old song ‘Chalat musafir moh liya re pinjre wali muniya’ employed to the title track make the movie more alluring. For music lovers the ‘Humsafar track is a beautifully sung by Akhil Sachdeva and Mansheel Gujral. All in all, this movie will be worth a watch this Holi and is definitely going to uplift our moods with its quirky comedy. If you love comedy, don’t think and just go buy the ticket as it’s in no way going to be wasted.

Shoot locations : Ghatotkach Circle, Kota

Kishore Sagar Lake, Kota

Seven Wonders Park, Kota

Aayush Resort, Panvel

Henderson Waves Bridge, Singapore

Directed by : Shashank Khaitan

Produced by : Hiroo Johar, Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta

Written by : Shashank Khaitan

Starcast : Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Gauahar Khan, Mohit Marwah, Aakanksha Singh

Music by : Amaal Mallik, Tanishk Bagchi, Akhil Sachdeva

Background Score: John Stewart Eduri

Cinematography: Neha Parti Matiyani

Edited by : Manan Sagar

Production company : Dharma Productions

Distributed by : Fox Star Studios

Release date : 10 March 2017 (India)

Country India

Language Hindi

Meanwhile enjoy the trailer below:

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