My first break

Contrary to what you might think, ace-lensman Gautam Rajadhyaksha was not born with a camera in his hand. He attributes the power of the pen in equal measure to his success as a photographer.

We are talking of a time in the late 8217;70s 8211; early 8217;80s when he was working as the head of the photo service department in the advertising agency, Lintas. It was at that time when Uma Rao of Stardust magazine and cousin Shobha De, who used to work for Society, gave him a couple of writing assignments. Naturally, he used his lenseye to illustrate his point. quot;I cannot really tell you which came first as the two offers came within a month of each other,quot; says Rajadhyaksha. Incidentally, one of the two offers was a story on model Anna Bredmeyer. The year was 1980. And the rest is history. quot;The joke is that within two years my writing was not wanted but the demand for my pictures increased,quot; he says. But that was only natural. Rajadhyaksha8217;s stint with the camera began much before his writing 8212; while he wasstill at school. quot;I had no intentions of making a career out of photography. I used to write but carried the camera along,quot; he says.

But when he joined Lintas, the work of photo-maestros like Vilas Bhende and Mitter Bedi inspired this writer to tell stories through pictures. Of course, it helped that his friends people like Tina Munim and Jackie Shroff ended up as the stars who needed to be shot. A situation that suited all parties concerned. And today, Rajadhyaksha8217;s pictures are famous for that extra-something they show about his subjects.