Neville Sukhia reminisces about the Aadyam seasons gone by and picks his favourite moments.
As told to Vivek Madan.
Firstly, this was all a very long time ago, so it’s been a great trip down memory lane for me, to look through the pictures from 2015 – 2019. But as I looked through the folders and sub folders, the memories came back.
So I’ll try and select the dozen or so pictures that I associate with a strong memory. I hope you enjoy making this journey with me.
Siddhus! This was the first Aadyam play. My first play as a photographer.
At Tata [Tata Theatre at the National Centre for Performing Arts].
It really helped that I knew Shernaz [Patel] and Rajit [Kapur] because, he chuckles, they were really kind to me.
Even though I was used to shooting ‘live’ with no posing or retakes, it really helped that I decided sometimes never to let my finger off the shutter button. Because there were micro reactions from the actors that I was really able to capture. Like in this next shot, look at their faces! I didn’t know what was coming. And if I hadn’t been on that button, I might have missed it.
Ah the Hindi Shakespeare one. Mera Piya Gaya Rangoon.
You know, Tata is a great place to shoot because look at these two images. They look like they’re from the same distance, but because of that gentle rake of the seats, you get that nice toppish angle, like in the one on the right.
And then there was God of Carnage. There’s so much happening here! Everyone is so engaged in some stage of crazy emotion! I can look at this shot for hours.
I was gearing up for the money shot, you know the one I’m talking about. The one with the puking. That was such a great shot! And I was nervous that I wouldn’t get it and I’d have to request the actors to do it again. But I really didn’t want to do that. Thank God I got it in the first go. I cannot believe that I don’t have a copy of it. Obviously the team didn’t want it out there because it would give too much away. So maybe they scrubbed my hard drives.
But look at these.
It’s always nice to leave signs of movement in a play that’s as full of movement as this. So there’s some real sense of dynamism in the photograph; really brings out the mood of that moment.
That was also the case in A Few Good Men, another one Nadir [Khan] directed. I think a few years later. I’m going to jump between Seasons now, the memories are sharpening up!
It’s always nice to leave signs of movement in a play that’s as full of movement as this. So there’s some real sense of dynamism in the photograph; really brings out the mood of that moment.
That was also the case in A Few Good Men, another one Nadir [Khan] directed. I think a few years later. I’m going to jump between Seasons now, the memories are sharpening up!
It’s also great when there’s a nice set. Like Ladies’ Sangeet! Such an ornate set, with a lot of depth.
I really enjoy a set with detailing like this that just pops in a photograph.
The little hint of costume behind the trellis, the nicely lit curtain blowing in the AC at the back. It all adds to the photo and of course to the play!
And the photo on the left is a great moment! It says so much, with so little going on. Definitely in my top 10!
Most times, when I’m shooting a play, it’s like I’m also an actor, searching for those moments of truth or connection.
Sometimes I miss them, but when it comes together, like with this one, it feels really great.
Of course a minimalist set also has great opportunities to capture moments. Like the photo on the left.
This one is from the Rajat Kapoor play, the version of As You Like It. (Can’t remember which Season, sorry!) The characters are the focus and again, so much happening!
Or Hello Farmaaish. Which was such a lovely, empowering story! I think the ladder going into the cloud is one of my all-time Aadyam favourite set pieces and photographs.
Or Anand Express, which just had a big cube that morphed into many things. Great set to shoot, and just to watch!
Oh and Anand Express also had projections. Which are always a little tough to shoot. Twelve Angry Jurors also had projections.
I really enjoyed getting this moment, where we see Rajit’s character in the ‘bathroom’ on stage on the left, as well as larger than life on the screen. Clearly tells you what’s going on, in just one frame.
And then. Talking of big sets. Sing India Sing was The Mother of all Big Sets! And Projection. And Choreography. Sing India Sing was just a series of moments.
When I shoot, I get an average of a 1000 pictures per run through. So choosing and then tweaking becomes another task. Thank God for batch processing software!!
But I also really enjoyed the smaller plays, Like Guards at The Taj. It’s one of those plays I went back to watch. Just one of the perks of being Aadyam’s official photographer, I got sneak previews of all the plays!
In a smaller space, sometimes I would change lenses just to get closer in and get more detail, like in the picture below.
And finally, some of the stuff I enjoyed shooting the most was the studio shots. The promos. That’s when I really got to know the people, chatted with them, figured what a close knit community theatre people are. And such fun!
I had a great time shooting these plays. It’s really exhausting, staying in focus (pun intended) for 2 hours at a stretch, but I’m so grateful for the opportunity to have watched these plays and met these people. I’ve made great friends and great memories, and it’s a privilege to be able to share the memories with you, through my lens. I’ll keep the friends to myself.
