Role Model

“I wanted to expand my horizons,strike out independently rather than accept the uninteresting film projects I’m offered. The cost of making my own film is prohibitive but I did the next best thing and made a movie with stills,” says Saluja,who has conceptualised and put together the whole project,while waiting for the release of his upcoming multi-starrer 42 kms. “I do not know why the release has been stalled. Frankly,I’ve moved on and this project has kept me busy for four years,” smiles Saluja,his 10-day-old stubble giving him the air of a brooding artist.

For the project,photographer Ronnie Sequeira and second cameraman Hardeep Sachdeva have captured Saluja in various moods and settings,keeping the narrative at the forefront. Elaborate sets and costumes imbue a slew of small screen actors with a sense of authenticity as they perform for Saluja’s Indian interpretation of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather and Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull. Predictably,Saluja plays Vito Corleone,the dour heir to the Sicilian empire in the former film,and Jake LaMotta,the macho,struggling boxer in the latter.

The other half of the exhibition,shot in black-and-white,is more captivating than the first set of images from The Godfather. Saluja even slips into prosthetics to capture a despondent LaMotta. “I usually work out regularly but I did put in some extra effort to train for the look of a boxer. The prosthetics were a left over from 42 kms,“ says Saluja,admitting he’d love to get an eight-pack like fellow actor Shahid Kapur.

“We decided to host this exhibition because it’s a rather unusual idea,and besides I love The Godfather ,” adds gallerist Parul Vadehra ,the woman behind Saluja’s show. In fact,it was Vadehra who insisted on holding it at the atrium,since it would be a more apt location than a gallery.

The exhibition has travelled from Mumbai to Delhi and plans are underway to take it to Kolkata.

A not-for sale,limited edition coffee table book accompanies the show which is on till December 20. For details call 011-46103550/3551