Septuagenarian Ashwath Narayan may have retired as a cinema still photographer, but he remains a busy man. He has images of actors and directors from 1965 to 2000. “I have about three lakh images and I am converting them and negatives into a digital format,” says Ashwath, “It is my way of preserving his legacy.
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Ashwath credits his brother for instilling a passion for still photography. “He was then running Three Star Studios in Madras. This cinema was dedicated to photography. As soon as I had my class X exams, he invited me to look after his studio. One day, a senior photographer did not turn up on the sets and I was sent to replace him.”
Ashwath later realized that he was working on the sets of a Kannada film. belly moda, which featured Kalpana, directed by Puttanna Kanagal.
Since then, Ashwath has seen everything through his lens.
“I was the still photographer for 11 films with Puttanna and 15 with Siddalingiya. I also worked Guru Shishyaru Malaya Marhutha… Photography and print still ruled in those days; People used to wait for cinema material, which was published only on weekends. The photographs will be displayed extensively on the news pages. We rejoiced in that glory.”
Ashwath says that many filmmakers relied heavily on still photography to check the continuity of scenes. The images would be documented in albums, keeping a record of the dress, makeup and hairstyle.
Many of Ashwath’s illustrations still find their place in print and book stories: 300 of his photographs are in Dr Rajkumar Samagra Charitra, Written by Doddahuluru Rukkoji. Coffee Table Book won the National Award in the Best Book on Cinema category.
According to Ashwath, while he worked in both black and white, the former was more challenging. “We had to capture every detail and bring the image to life with just those two colors. Unfortunately technology has taken away some of the nuances of photography. “
However, he continued, “we must use technology to document our heritage.” He plans to create a virtual library for cinema, which will give access to anyone interested in Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam cinema.
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