With ‘Honest’, the photographer behind the Kingfisher calendar makes a pivot

Ever since OpenAI dropped ChatGPT Images 2.0 in April, the internet has been in makeover mode. Cinematic, surreal portraits have replaced smartphone selfies. We’re all starring in retro Bollywood posters. It’s wild. When creating, editing, and reinventing images is as easy as continuing a chat with the chatbot, there is little space for reality.

And that’s what makes Atul Kasbekar’s Honest: Portraits of Character feel perfectly timed. His latest exhibition, which opens today at Mumbai’s Jio World Plaza, brings together 56 portraits of some of Bollywood’s finest actors. Just faces. As they are.

For someone who has been a part of the industry for decades, first as a photographer and then also as a producer—Neerja (2016) and Tumhari Sulu (2017)—this may seem like the most obvious project to undertake. But the choice of people featured in the series is anything but obvious. There are some very recognisable names, like Naseeruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, Boman Irani, Neena Gupta, and Ratna Pathak Shah, but there’s also comedian Sunil Grover and character actors like Atul Kulkarni, Sanjay Mishra, Mona Singh, and Chhaya Kadam who are so good at what they do that they tend to disappear behind the roles they portray.

Sometimes sidekicks, sometimes BFFs, sometimes mothers and fathers, this cast of supporting actors finally gets a spotlight as part of this month-long exhibition.

“When you are sitting behind the monitor, you realise that the level of perfection that character actors bring to the role is staggering. There’s never a retake or very, very rarely a retake on account of them, letting the director and the DOP focus on the star who’s getting them the money to make the film. Yet, these artists are getting their share of recognition only now,” he shares about his subjects.

It’s this invisibility that the photographer hopes to capture with Honest. The series features black-and-white portraits that are starkly different from his high-glam oeuvre, like the catalogue of Kingfisher models he once captured. “I told myself this will be my 36th year of shooting professionally and I don’t need to prove to anyone that I know how to play with lights. Not that using a prop or mood lighting is cheating, but I wanted the images to have a deeper meaning. During the shoots, I realised I was going with a subliminal influence of Richard Avedon. He only used a single light against a white or grey background. And he has created some beautiful moments with this minimal setup on an extremely difficult camera—the [traditional] 8 x 10 with the sheet films. He had a certain philosophy with portraiture that shows you the strength of the photographer.”

Installed across the first and second floors of the Jio World Plaza, Kasbekar’s sharp monotone portraits, standing tall at 6 x 4 feet, look directly at you. “To me, the lines and scars on our face are memories and medals of a life lived. I don’t like to fuss about it. With everyone trying to put their best-looking self forward, especially with all the editing software available, it’s been a while since anyone has experienced what real images are. The takeaway I’m hoping for, and the one that would give me the greatest satisfaction, is for people to say the approach felt refreshingly different,” he says of his latest work. His only ask from the talent was to commit two hours of their time at his Worli studio and wear something “black, navy or dark grey”.

It’s difficult to miss these photos if you’re headed to the BKC mall this month. For visitors, there’s even a photo booth tucked away within the exhibition, in case you’re tempted to see take an ‘honest’ portrait of yourself. Below, Kasbekar opens up about the three years it took to put together his most recent project:

For decades you have captured Bollywood’s most famous faces. What prompted you to put together this series of candid portraits?

If you’re an advertising photographer anywhere in the world, including India, there’s a certain level of dishonesty in your work. Because we are not news photographers, the idea is to make beautiful things even more beautiful. If we need a better-looking sky, or make the person two inches taller, slightly broader, whatever it is, it can be done. So given the achingly honest outlook these actors have with their work, it seemed only fair that I don’t embellish their photographs.

How did you go about identifying the 56 artists featured in the series?

It was more like a personal take of people whose work I’ve admired. I consulted with Yogesh Nagarkoti of Cast Ink, who has been a casting director on most of our films [at Ellipsis Entertainment], and he came up with a couple of gems in the process. I have shot with people who primarily play character roles in motion pictures. It includes people like Sunil Grover and Rahul Bose, but also people like Boman [Irani] or Naseer Bhai [Naseeruddin Shah], who are ridiculously famous but have essentially played character roles and made them phenomenal.

What made you opt for a space like Jio World Plaza over a conventional gallery?

I met Akash Ambani on Christmas in 2024 and showed him three or four prints of the photos and what I wanted to do. He offered me the NMACC space, but I told him I’d rather do it at the mall, only because I have come across a lot of people who are intimidated by the idea of going to a museum or gallery. They hesitate—“I don’t understand art”—and I wanted to demystify this conversation. So, I thought, if the showcase is in a public space, people might just chance upon it when they are going to the movies, shopping, grabbing a bite, or simply enjoying the AC in a mall. Akash probably thought I was singularly deranged, but he came around.

Can you share any memorable moments from the shoot?

While I have known most of these artists for long enough, some I connected with more deeply only during this shoot. One such instance was Darshan Jariwala. I was trying to break him down [before the shoot] and then we started talking about music. I accidentally played Pink Floyd, and he said, “Hey, you know, Pink Floyd? I love Pink Floyd.” And then he went on to tell me this crazy story about how he managed to catch them in concert in the ’90s against all odds and logistical issues. It was fascinating. So, I just cranked up the volume and played The Dark Side of the Moon. Soon he was doing air guitars, loudly singing along, tears rolling down his face, and I was firing away, while my assistant was looking at me, baffled. I said, “This is a Zen moment. This is where it’s a connection. Leave him alone, let him do what he wants.” I must have shot, like, 800 frames.

Besides Pink Floyd, do you have a playlist you turn to while shooting in your studio?

I think one of the key things to get people at ease is music. I usually play something by Kerala Dust, because then you’re not singing along and it’s soothing background music.

Honest: Portraits of Character will be on display at the Jio World Plaza, level 1 and 2, till July 5