BY: Waseem Khan
Known for his ground-breaking black and white imagery, the legendary lensman Prabuddha Dasgupta’s work is alive via Ganjam Jewellers’ iconic campaigns.
Undeniably, unquestionably and irrevocably, Indian fashion photographer, Prabuddha Dasgupta, was the most influential artist, a genius of our times.
A self-taught photographer, Dasgupta established a new visual style for India’s emerging fashion scene, through the ‘90s and consistently until his passing in 2012.
Perhaps one of his most well-remembered shots was that black and white image featuring leading male model Milind Soman, with a python around his neck, with model Madhu Sapre. It was dynamite!
Other than that, his work has been published in leading magazines such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Marie-Claire, and Femina, among others. Dasgupta stands out amongst the greatest names for his fearless, brilliant imagery, and for being a true artist. His untimely passing in the August of 2012 came as a shock to me, and to all of us who truly loved the man and admired his work.
Being a fashion photographer and living in the time of Prabuddha, has to be one of the greatest pleasures and inspirations of my life. If anyone asks me to pick one of my biggest moments of my life, it has to be one was when the revered artist saw one of my black and white images and told me that he loved that shot. I was on cloud nine for a month!
Amongst his greatest works were the images he created for Ganjam Jewelers. A Bangalore based jewellery house known for their artistic, eclectic and sophisticated collections, have some of the most striking black and white campaigns done by the iconic Dasgupta.
Umesh Ganjam, the custodian and partner of the brand, shared a special friendship with the maestro. They formed a unique and brilliant collaboration with each other – creating, celebrating artistic jewellery and its juxtaposition on the female form with supermodel Lakshmi Menon, the purity of light and shadow visualised through the genius artist’s brilliant understanding of black and white imagery.
This is my ode, my singular, yet extremely humble tribute to the magical work that Dasgupta created for the flagship store in Bangalore. The images here, may or may not be on par with the magician’s incredible imagery, but if I could replicate a mood, just a tiny whiff of the essence of the genius, then I have succeeded.
Photographs – Waseem Khan
Model – Anaika Nair from Inega Models
Makeup/Hair – Thousif Sait
Location – Renaissance Bengaluru Hotel
Jewellery – Ganjam Jewellers
