From photographing Amitabh Bachchan to Aamir Khan, from growing up with Sachin Tendulkar to having Ashutosh Gowariker, Salman and Aamir Khan supporting him at every step in his career, photographer Avinash Gowariker admits he has been “extremely lucky”. In a career that kick-started in 1995 with Aamir Khan’s Baazi, when he was just 22-23 years old, Avinash has worked with almost all the icons from the industry.
Hyderabad Bound
“I was there to shoot Ram Charan for a campaign. I also met Namrata Shirodkar at her house. Namrata is like my sister; I have known her for 20 years,” says Avinash, who is in Mumbai now. He has also shot Sania Mirza several times for magazine covers and brand promotions.
How it falls into place
Talking about his style of photography, Avinash maintains that he is spontaneous and believes in bringing out his subjects’ personality. “Like, the first time I met Ram Charan, I didn’t know what kind of person he was. But then he is a technically sound person and he had lots of inputs to give me, what frame he looks good in etc. That’s the best part about working with the stars of today, like Ranbir Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan, Varun Dhawan… they have either worked as assistant directors or have done courses that have taught them about the technical aspects,” he says.
lucky stars
Avinash stayed in the same building as Sachin Tendulkar and while the latter is considered the ‘God of Indian cricket’, Avinash admits it’s just surreal. “How often does it happen that a person you grew up with is a role model for millions of people? I feel I am very lucky. The greatest legends of our era have stood in front of my camera,” says Avinash, who got his first break in his brother, Ashutosh Gowariker’s film Baazi. “I believe it was the brotherly love that made him trust me and give me this Bollywood offer,” he says.
Biggest regret
Avinash was pursuing B.Com when he decided to drop out of college at the age of 19.
“I used to assist my neighbour, who was a photographer. And it was during that time that I realised I wanted to be a photographer,” he says. The day he quit college, Avinash’s father got him a camera. “I do regret wasting a lot of time. Quitting college and taking up photography is not really an ideal option. But there were no good photography institutes at that time, so I had no option but to learn on the sets,” he says.
