How ‘Fashion Blogging’ is changing the face of fashion photography (Part II)

Scott Schuman              http://www.thesartorialist.com

Scott Schuman in Autumn 2007. Photo by Christopher Peterson.

Scott Schuman is an American blogger and fashion photographer who created "The Sartorialist." After leaving his position as director of men's fashion at his showroom to take care of his daughter in September 2005, he began carrying a digital camera around and photographing people he saw on the street whose style he found striking. He then posted these to his blog, sometimes with short comments, always either favorable or open-minded. He is well known for photographing what have been described as 'real people.' He pioneered fashion photography in blog form.

Photographs from his blog

"The Sartorialist" quickly became a regular read for fashionistas, both on the street and in the upper echelons of the industry. Schuman began his site with the hopes of connecting fashion and everyday street life. He describes his philosophy as trying to echo how fashion designers looked at what they saw on the street: “My only strategy when I began The Sartorialist was to try and shoot style in a way that I knew most designers hunted for inspiration.”

Condé Nast tapped him to do something similar during Fashion Week in Paris for its style.com website. He has covered shows during New York's Fashion Week for Saks Fifth Avenue. Schuman has been featured in GQ Magazine where he was given his own page in every issue for nearly four years, as well as work appearing in Vogue Italia, Vogue Paris and Interview Magazine.

 An image from Schuman's Coach Campaign.

Schuman collaborated with numerous advertising campaigns: for The Gap and Verizon, with Kiehl’s on an exclusively commissioned product and campaign surrounding Father’s Day, Nespresso, DKNY Jeans, Gant, OVS, Crate & Barrel. Burberry, meanwhile, tapped Schuman to shoot the groundbreaking social media-cum-advertising “Art of the Trench” project.

About his shooting style in a Harper’s Bazaar interview, on how he chooses who to photograph he says: “No. I mean, there is that element–the [person who] totally wants to get shot, and dressed crazy. But that’s never what I shoot. It’s the people who want to be famous, shot by people who want to make their blog famous. But it’s not what I’m interested in. So the only way it affects me is I guess a more congested background when I’m shooting.”

In his interview with Vitamin Daily he says: “It took me a long time to be able to call myself a photographer. I didn’t train with anyone; I didn’t go to school for it. It took me a long time to get to the point where I could say that I have my own unique look, and people recognize my photographs.”

In 2009, an anthology of Schuman's favourite shots from around the world was published as a book entitled The Sartorialist.

 

Some pages from The Sartorialist (2009)

Schuman cites as inspiration the photography of documentary style cameramen like National Geographic’s SteveMcCurry, the man behind the now-famous June 1985 cover photo featuring an Afghani girl with haunting sea green eyes. Looking at Schuman’s photos, you can sense that he is trying to capture the inner spirit of his subjects, not only their fashion sense. “I’m not reporting on a bag; who’s carrying what bag and who’s wearing what dress. I’m not reporting on people,” he explained. “What I am looking for is a certain grace.”

But Mr. Schuman’s influence is felt far beyond the blogosphere. His beautifully framed photos, which feature fashion insiders and football fans alike, now appear on mood boards in design studios around the world. His photographic style has inspired countless advertising campaigns and editorials.

SusieLau                           www.stylebubble.co.uk/

Susanna Lau, also known as Susie Bubble, is a writer, editor and photographer living and working in London. Lau started her blog "Style Bubble" in March 2006, and since then she has enjoyed many fashion and photography adventures. Every day, Susie Lau logs on to her blog, Style Bubble, photographs her outfit, raves about a new designer and inspires her international fanbase. She's one of the first bloggers to be recognised by the industry - she was one of only two bloggers invited to a Gucci show in New York, and has since accepted tickets to Chanel and Lanvin.

“I'm self taught when it comes to photography, but at the beginning I would learn from the pro photographers and just mess around. I spent six months just auto shooting, and just built up my confidence.” she says in an interview with Cosmo magazine.

An overcast day, which is Susie’s preferred outdoor lighting, is much easier to work with, as it produces a friendlier and more diffused light - you'll see no dramatic shadows here! “And in any case, think of the poor model having to squint up at the sun while you get the correct camera settings. A screwed up face is never a good look.” she is quick to point in an interview with Marie Claire (2013). 'In terms of shooting, I have a set order of what shots I want to get in my head – a full length, a 3/4 and then catch any details close-up (shoes, bags etc.),' she says.

 

Photographs from her blog

“You want the attention to be focused on the person you’re photographing, not on the background. Scaffolding and white van don’t create the best background. It changes the entire photograph; you find your focus is drawn away from those beautiful clothes to read the background sign. If you want to express calm in a portrait, choose a calm background. Rather than shooting on a flat wall (Susie loves to get depth in a photograph) placing a model in the centre of a road, preferably a quieter one, will create an instant frame.” says Sussie in ‘How to become a fashion photographer: a masterclass with Susie Lau’ in Cosmo magazine (2013).

Style Bubble's Susie loves to photograph details. She often finds her self snapping away in restaurant or walking down the street when she sees wonderful textures all around her. These snapshots are great for inspiration on colours and themes for future shoots.

Some other photographs from her blog.

Lau was editor of Dazed Digital, the website of Dazed & Confused magazine, from 2008-2010. Lau now works full-time on her blog and other freelance projects, including writing for Elle, The Daily Rubbish and Dazed Digital.

How ‘Fashion Blogging’ is changing the face of fashion photography (Part I)

Introduction

If you Google the term ‘Fashion photography’ the definition you generally get is that it is a genre of photography devoted to displaying clothing and other fashion items. In present times there is a contradiction here: In theory, its purpose is the same as that of a catalog: to depict the clothes and help to sell them. In practice however, fashion photography has been used as a vehicle for self-expression by some of the world's greatest photographers. Over time, fashion photography has developed its own aesthetic in which the clothes and fashions are enhanced by exotic locations and story lines.

In order to discuss fashion photography, it should first be understood as a unique type of photograph, one that is simultaneously documentary and art work. In addressing fashion photography in his book The Fashion System, Roland Barthes explains that the world is a backdrop. That backdrop can be transformed into particular stages for specific theater themes. The theater of meaning in fashion then walks the line between the serious and the whimsical. Barthes describes fashion photography as an exorcism in which everything in the photo is made “outrageous” so that the garment alone seems real and convincing. Barthes identifies 3 common strategies in the fashion photograph:

1)      Literal representation: the catalog shot displaying the garment. 

2)      Romanticized: fashion becomes referential, a story where real life becomes art like in acting out dreams. 

3)    Mockery: a model in an outrageous situation using unreal juxtapositions, unlike the previous there is no romance or reason but total absurdity. 

Since its inception in the 1880s, the fashion photograph has generated criticism. Some photographers consider it too commercial, an impure application of the art form. It has sometimes been dismissed as frivolous and criticized for promoting negative stereotypes.

Latest development: Fashion Photography blogs

Fashion photography blogs are blogs that cover the fashion industry, clothing, and personal style. They cover fashion at all levels from the biggest names to the smallest indie-designers.

Fashion is a multi-billion-dollar industry that has considerable impact on the way ordinary people dress and present themselves. But there is more to fashion than the different articles of clothing, fashion is made up of designers, buyers, retailers, editors, columnists and photographers. While all parties work together to create an image, all of these parties can simultaneously be affected by outside forces, especially blogs. Fashion is trend-driven and fashion blogs provide a new way to follow and oversee these fast-paced trends, it is likely that the blogoshepere will have a considerable long-term influence on the industry, as the number of fashion based blogs continue to grow. All this will eventually (and is presently also) influencing fashion photography.

Fashion is ever so changing and so is fashion photography.

Even photographers from yesteryear like Richard Avedon brought movement to the pages of fashion magazines which were so posed and stiff before he came along and Helmut, well, Helmut brought out the kink and free spirit in everyday fashion. The new breed of street fashion photographers is just taking the momentum they created forward.

Also often, the creative desires of the photographers are at odds with the intentions of the editor, as Anna Wintour, fashion editor at Vogue, illustrates: Our needs are simple. We want a photographer to take a dress, make the girl look pretty, give us lots of images to choose from, and not give us any attitude. Photographers - if they are any good - want to create art. So, bloggers have been chipping away at the mainstream media as more and more people want to hear about fashion from people who apply it to everyday life.

The historical aspect aside, fashion photographers should love fashion! Live it, love it, and dream about it. Fashion photographers have to be aware of a lot of things; you’re photographing garments that need to grab the viewer’s attention, you need to know how to photograph them well and may even have to lend your eye in styling them to make an image. Even Paolo Roversi has occasionally styled his own editorials!  Obviously, a strong background in fashion is a must for this. It’s not something I wish on anyone, but there will always be one of those days where you need a stylist and the only person that can come through is you, so you better know how to put an outfit together! And this is one trait that a lot of mainstream fashion photographers lack presently and this is where our new breed of fashion bloggers scores over them.

“Fashion used to be very dictatorial,” said Constance White, style director of eBay and a former fashion journalist, speaking at a panel on fashion blogging hosted by glam.com last year. Getting access to the fashion tents is very difficult for outsiders. For years fashion was something written about and photographed by a small number of publications whose writers and photographers guarded their access to shows and designers as fiercely as their Chanel handbags. Many people might not have heard of Scott Schuman, Susie Bubble and Hanelli Mustaparta but they are household names to dedicated followers of fashion photography blogs. All three are big players in the blogging revolution that has turned the fashion world on its head.

Bloggers see themselves as truth tellers in a world where the truth is hard to come by. “What we offer is a personal point of view,” said Scott Schuman of The Sartorialist. “I love magazines, but they can come across as corporate.” “If you’re a junior writer at Vogue, you can’t write a scathing review of Oscar de La Renta,” said Kathryn Finney of The Budget Fashionista. “Whereas, as a blogger, I have a lot more flexibility because my boss is me.

Like consumers, the blogs come in all shapes and sizes. Schuman's Sartorialist blog photographs style as it catches his eye on the street, finding inspiration in everything from designer dresses to filthy workwear. The hierarchical fashion landscape changed beyond all recognition with the advent of digital media.

Early adopters such as Susie Lau of Style Bubble and Scott Schuman of The Sartorialist have become part of the new digital media establishment, where they face increasingly well-heeled competition from digital editions of Elle and Vogue, as well as the brands themselves. The situation was summed up by the flamboyant, meat-dress wearing Lady Gaga in her column for V Magazine: "The reality of today's media is that there are no echelons" –this applies to fashion photography perfectly today.

My problem with depiction of Old age in cinema!

Mainstream popular cinema always plays on all the existing stereotypes associated with elderly people. Old Age is generally associated with impending death and sadness, which is funny considering it’s the last stage of life and should be rich in experiences and valuable lessons learnt. But death, especially when it comes at the right age is nothing to cry about but to be celebrated and cherished. 

Also you have memories of a lifetime with you, but that doesn't mean you stop creating new memories, new experiences, you are still living and so still learning. Old age is about experience and it does not entitle every old person with the wisdom of an owl. They've lived, they've flawed.  Some learn some, still make mistakes. Old people are humans too, so stop painting them in virtuous light all the time. ‘Angel in the house’ holds true only in the Utopian fictional world, not in reality. So old age should be portrayed in not only the idyllic white but blacks too.

Its grey that is interesting, black and white are plain boring. 

Shot by Shot breakup of ‘Derrida’

Given below is the Shot by Shot breakup of the Film ‘Derrida’ - only the first 10 minutes: 

Shot 1          00:00 to 02:00

The camera from a moving train captures the water outside, the water body over which the train is running. This shot taken from the train opens the film. Then as the train comes on land, we see the railway tracks, the bridge at a distance and then the cityscape. Starting with jerky movements, the camera now becomes more stable. We see a wall which completely blocks our view and the visual matches with the narrative voice running in the background which says “when I am completely unable to foresee their arrival”. The train then stops abruptly at a place, and we cannot see clearly as to where it is.

Shot 2          02:00 to 02:11

We see somebody’s house; an old man walks in, familiar homely environment. The old man walks up to the cupboard and hangs a coat in.

Shot 3          02:11 to 02:34

Then we see a clipping of a TV programme, where a woman with a bob cut is just about to introduce a very great philosopher, but before she can tell us the name the shot ends.

Shot 4          02:34 to 03:00

We are back to the house; the old man is shown closing the cupboard and wearing a coat. He then leaves the room after apologizing for not even saying hello.

Shot 5          03:00 to 03:16

A BBC clipping (the watermark tells us) where a voice introduces us to the great philosopher, as a black and white photograph of the old man is shown on the screen, and finally the name is revealed ‘Derrida’.

Shot 603:16 to 03:37

We are back at the house, which we now know belongs to the great philosopher Derrida. We see the old man coming into the house; he talks a bit and then picks his car keys and goes out. 

Shot 7                                                                                                         03:37 to 03:55

An old recording of an interview, where we again see only the introduction by the host of her guest - Derrida. The intermingling of shots that portray his image as a ‘great’ philosopher of his times are cleverly interspersed with his casual shots at home. The opening gives you both the images – how people perceive him and how he is in his normal surroundings, most importantly at home.

Shot 8                                                                                                       03:55 to 04:00

Right outside Derrida’s house, he gets into his car.

Shot 9                                                                                                       04:00 to 05:00

Outside scene, shots from the window of the car presumably. Shows us the route he takes, what all he is passing by. It is very similar to the opening shot, but from a longer angle this time as its shot from a car on road and not a train. Then the car goes in an underpass and it gets dark. Screen blacks out completely and we see ‘de’ written in white on the screen. Then ‘rrida’ appears right next to it in white, and simultaneously ‘de’ changes to grey in colour. Sound of ambulance comes and screen becomes grayish-white.

Shot 10                                                                                                     05:00 to 06:00

Screen is grayish-white; the camera zooms out to a pavement on top of which five people are walking. As they come close to the camera, we see one of them is Derrida. He is lighting a pipe. Once he reaches the camera, the cameraperson follows him while he crosses the road with his friends.

Shot 11                                                                                                      06:00 to 06:07

A lane where Derrida and three of his friends are walking with him and the camera person is moving with them (ahead of them).

Shot 12                                                                                                     06:07 to 06:22

Inside a building, Derrida is talking facing the camera as he waits for the lift with his friends. The lift door opens and he walks in still talking and the camera follows.

Shot 13                                                                                                     06:22 to 06:31

Derrida trying to talk and listen to a person right next to him. He is in focus, whereas two men in the foreground who frame him are out of focus. There backs are towards the camera.

Shot 14          06:31 to 07:42

Side profile of Derrida talking on the mic at the New York University (NYU) lecture. Cut to a person clicking his photograph (the press/ media) – Fraction of seconds. And then back to him. He is talking about Heidegger’s philosophy and his thoughts on biography.

Shot 15          07:42 to 08:17

Camera moving swiftly into a room and then following a lady in the alley walk down the steps and enter another room. Here we see Derrida, who goes to his cupboard and the lady follows him. Camera shows both of them; he shows her a coat and wears it on being asked.

Shot 16          08:17 to 09:06

Derrida speaking at the NYU lecture, shot from the front. He fills up the screen appropriately. He is talking about Heidegger’s philosophy.

Shot 17          09:06 to 11:00

Side shot of Derrida smoking his pipe as he walks past shops on a street. The camera-person is walking with him, coordinating footsteps. Once very briefly Derrida looks into the camera and then looks up and then continues looking ahead normally again – walking all this while, not stopping. The background voice gives us a glimpse into his pasts – childhood and growing up years, interesting facts. This is a very long and continuous shot, just like the opening of the film. He keeps walking and so does the camera-person beside him. Parked cars, telephone booth and people – they all come between them, but the shot goes on. Derrida looks towards the camera once again but as before looks away and keeps on walking. They close in on the face and end the shot. 

Sights and Sounds at Okhla Vegetable Market - Part II

Location: Okhla Vegetable Market

Time: 04:10 a.m. to 5:30 a.m.

20 sounds that I liked:

1. Namaz – coming from the tent put up for the auspicious Ramzan season.
2. The sound of stray dogs being kicked intentionally or unintentionally, in any crowded places is common.
3. ‘Aao! Aao!’ – Shopkeepers keep shouting this to lure customers.
4. ‘70 Rs. bahot ho gaya’ – the price may change but this is one dialogue you get to hear from both the customers and the shopkeepers.
5. As a vegetable market is a crowded place the commotion of people, the mixing of chatter, with the sound of walking and other activities creates a noise unique to the place.
6. ‘Hato!’ – Very commonly heard by the workers carrying big sacks or huge boxes on there backs when somebody is blocking there way.
7. A radio playing in the background is common to a lot of places, but a vegetable market is one place where in order to here it you would have to close your eyes and feel it.
8. ‘Papita!?’ – the item may change, they may know you are not there to shop, but a good vendor will never let an opportunity pass by to inquire if you need something.
9. ‘Puch ke laga cheezein’ – a shopkeeper instructing a worker under him, or a father teaching his son, this is very often heard in various forms.
10. Sound of the honking of cars from the road, and the trucks in the mandi are a constant sound effect in a vegetable market.
11. Thumping noises caused by beating of hand against the sides of a truck, signaling it to back or stop is common here. This avoids any mishaps and allows smooth movement in the market.
12. When vegetables like potatoes, onions, corncobs etc. are dumped, along comes a lot of dust and irritants which can cause coughing. So coughing is another common sound.
13. Sound of dumping of sacks, after they have been packed into the truck.
14. Taking off the big brown tapes that seal the fruit boxes is another frequently heard sound, especially near the fruit shops.
15. As the ‘Okhla Sabzi Mandi’ is near a railway stop, you can constantly hear the train’s horn whenever one passes by.
16. By the time we were leaving, it had started raining. And there was already a big puddle on one side. So whenever a truck would pass, it would make a splashing noise.
17. ‘Aye rickshaw!’ – used to call a rickshawala, grab his attention for some work.
18. ‘Kacha, Hara’ – sometimes the vendors use innovative words like these to grab the customers’ attention. He says ‘Kacha, Hara’ but doesn’t specify what he is selling. It could be anything dhaniya, chilly, banana, mango, beans, capsicum, bitter gourd, etc. so when you hear this, you tend to look for the shop and see what he is selling. Good marketing strategy!
19. As we were exiting, a man’s mobile started ringing in a funny Bollywood ring tone. It was funny and at the same time very symbolic of our visit. As that was the only moment when people around us actually silenced a bit, to see where it was coming from.
20. Whistling – I spotted these few people who were using whistling as some kind of codes to call out to each other and signal certain actions. It actually comes handy in a crowded and difficult to move around environment like a vegetable market. 

Sights and Sounds at Okhla Vegetable Market - Part I

Location: Okhla Vegetable Market

Time: 04:10 a.m. to 5:30 a.m.

20 visuals that I liked:

1. Just outside the ‘Okhla Vegetable Market’ something interesting caught my eye. As it’s a wholesale market, a lot of trucks and tempos, had been parked outside. These created good frames, beside the pavement. One such was a green tempo parked in front of an orange truck, and the space in the middle that was left you could see a family sleeping on the dusty pavement.
2. Another visual that I found interesting while still outside was the array of vegetable carrying bicycles. I hadn't expected to spot these, and I have been to vegetable markets before, but obviously not one this big. These bicycles looked adorable; they had woven vegetable baskets tied to the front of the handle bars, and a really big one secured near the seat. Standing in lines, or even when pictured alone they made for a pretty sight.
3. As it was early morning when we visited the ‘Okhla Sabzi Mandi, some people could be found sleeping. But what amazed me how different their beds and sleeping positions were! For e.g. I saw a man sleeping on vegetable plastic baskets, stacked together to make a bed. And another basket which had been kept upside down right next to him had a goat sleeping on it.
4. As we went in further, I spotted a fruit seller, who had a huge tent with watermelons under them. And one could clearly see that he was having a good time as he was quickly selling them off, though it was still so early. It was a good day for him! But right next to his shop, two young men slept on a wooden hawker’s cart. This made the visual very interesting, while the watermelon vendor was sending off truckloads of melons away, among all this commotion and activity these two men just slept through it all.
5. On going further we saw to our right, a lot of Muslims offering their early morning namaz. Special seating arrangements had been made for the auspicious Ramzan season, to host a large number of people. From the market where I stood, you could look into the tent through a gap and see the namaz proceedings.
6. Then I saw a truck, which was being loaded with sacks full of potatoes and onions. There were two workers at the back of the truck, one with the light guiding the other one with the sack. They made a very homely picture.
7. As we approached the area from where the market properly began, I spotted another interesting truck. It had been parked on a slope and had a street light illuminating the back end of the truck. It had a man on the top who was pulling a cover on top of the truck. Because of the slope and the man pulling it in the direction of the slope with all his might, this sight symbolized for me strength and hard work at the vegetable market.
8. Men with weird backpacks caught my attention as we were walking in the main market now. From a distance I couldn't make out what it was. It took me a while to see that they were not really backpacks, but contraptions made by them to lift a bag full of vegetables and carry it easily till the truck. They were all white in color and made of the white plastic sacks that one sees at markets. It had a small wooden block tied on the end, to sport the box or the sack.
9. A very charming fruit shop was something that stood out in a ‘vegetable’ market. There were other fruits shops too, but this one just marked its presence, the vendor must have spent quite some time in setting it up. It had fruits arranged in such a way that it looked like a fort of fruits, the front was lower and the backside was higher. So one could just stand and scan all the fruits easily. The vacant chair in the middle and a weighing matching just added more to the charm. Also fruit baskets and trays hung on strings from the rooftop lining the shop.
10. On one end of the market we saw a corncob wholesaler. This was the biggest corncob shop I think. It was huge and had one man sitting at one corner peeling the excess leafs off them. And one man who helped him was standing next to him. The heaps of already peeled corncobs lay below, which was being managed by two other people who were helping to get them loaded on trucks standing nearby.
11. There was an attention-grabbing man selling potatoes at the market. Though dressed in a normal banyan, lungi and smoking a beedi, there was something remarkable about him which made him so unlike others. He also had a ‘change’ pouch hanging off a really long string on his neck. It looked like he was some character out of a book.
12. There was also a shop selling only packed Khajoor (dates). To go with the festive season of Ramzan and the upcoming Eid. Packed in clear transparent plastic bags and reflecting the light from the bulbs, the Khajoor looked really glossy and silken! Appetizing enough to compel anybody to buy them.
13. Near one of the tea stalls in the market, was a big weighing machine placed. And beside it was kept a charpoy. So the hardworking men could be seen lifting heavy sacks placing them on the weighing machine, then sealing them and taking them to the truck. Whereas on the charpoy right next to it, young men who are lazy bums (you could make out by there behavior) just kept lazing around. One even got scolded by his dad for not working. It showed the contrast very clearly.
14. Sometimes the ordinary looks so different, that it looks other worldly! I felt this when I couldn't recognize green bananas being sold at a shop, because of its placement. They had been placed one top of the other, with the top i.e. the place where they are connected to each other was facing us. So they looked like huge big green flowers, with every banana looking like a leaf to me. It felt like a scene from the evergreen African jungles. So green and so exotic!
15. Early morning and the smell of ‘Chai’ is sure to brighten anybody’s day. So we went and had tea at one of the tea stalls. It was much later that I noticed it reminded me of some place. I couldn't really say it aloud because I thought it sounded weird, but nevertheless I somehow said it. And to my relief Nagma agreed with me. The ‘Chai stall’ reminded one of being in a railway station! Its composition was such that it had a feel of being situated on a platform. For once I actually though that we were waiting for a train and not really in a vegetable market. We were surrounded by vegetables yet getting the feeling of being transported to another world altogether is no mean feat.
16. One of the vendors who was not making much sale, or maybe was unhappy about something sat on the weighing machine of his shop with a grumpy expression on his face.
17. The place where the sacks were being lifted on the backs of workers also had interesting sights. One that I liked was the way they lifted the sacks up. Another worker would help lift the bag, and then he would swing it in a peculiar way above his head, so that it landed on his back. It looked very smooth and there practice showed in the ease with which they were doing it.
18. Amongst the vegetables and fruits in the market, amongst the vibrant colors, a dairy shop is sure to stand out. Selling products like: milk, cheese, khoya, etc. – the shop looks very white! And stacked up on a silver shelf, it shines too. Very different from the rest of the market indeed.
19. At one of the exits/entrances, there was an interesting opening with a triangular top. Vegetable vendors sitting on both sides with light bulbs glowing in their shops, contrasted well with the black sky visible through the opening. The play of light and dark, made it eye catchy.
20. The shop that I liked the most was the one selling carrots and capsicums. It had two levels and an interesting background of colorful doors. On the floor lay the orange carrots, and up the stairs to the raised platform lay green capsicums. Workers could be seen cleaning the vegetables and packing them. Behind them was a dark green cupboard fixed into the wall, then a blue door and just next to it a bright green bigger door. Two sacks of carrots were kept on the left side of the platform. It was full, vibrant, rich and one of the best sights that I saw at the ‘Okhla Sabzi Mandi’.

Kaagaz Ke Phool - a review

Kaagaz Ke Phool - a film by Guru Dutt, is considered a classic. Having watched it just yesterday in college for the first time the impression is still fresh in my head. The opening and closing scenes of the film are striking and well thought, something that stays with you for a long time. The movie begins with an old and lonely director Suresh Sinha played by Guru Dutt who is standing in front of a studio where a big statue is partially shown in the scene (rendering only the feet visible). The feet of the statue frame the aged man as he stands; this is symbolic of the main theme of the film, which is about the frailness and diminutive authority and control that man has over things that surround him and also his own life.

The flashback sequence shows us a magnificent set, grand and impressive it rightly highlights the glitz and glamour of his golden days at the peak as he reminisces his past. Some of the scenes where young girls flock to get a glimpse of him and maybe an autograph, and people attracted by the show of films, are really well thought and that shows in the execution.

As the plot progresses we see the director – Suresh Sinha and his find Shanti fall in love with each other. As this growing closeness causes more trouble in his already troubled married life. More so with the coming of Pammi who extracts a promise from her to leave, Shanti finally goes away to a village and becomes a teacher. Suresh on the other hand, can’t stand on his own, without Pammi, his daughter and now having Shanti left too – he is completely alone and depressed. Rocky (his brother in law) brings her back, in order to get Sinha’s life back on track. But when Shanti tries helping Suresh, his ego comes in the way and he refuses. He would never take help from anybody, he rather surrender himself to self-pity and alcohol.

I feel he was not what we nowadays call, that ‘into’ the girl. The film depicts two people who understand each other very well but can't be together. But I still have some questions. When Pammi leaves him, why doesn’t Suresh go up to Shanti and resolve the issue and show her that her absence didn’t really help salvage his marriage. Also Suresh enjoys her simple hero-worship of him without really responding. He just likes being loved unconditionally and Shanti knows this. In the end nobody learns anything, nobody cries, and Suresh dies in the pit. Life moves on. Suresh in particular, but Shanti too, have plenty of opportunities to improve the course of their lives, and their persistent refusal to take advantage of them, can get on your nerves. They refuse to take responsibility for there own happiness.

But the cinematography as always is a highlight of Dutt's films. The use of lighting is fitting, as it accentuates the grimness. The use of light during the screening of Sinha’s ‘Devdas’ at the premiere is a good example of the clever use of light. Dutt also used overlapping images and, the camera often moves and lingers creating a mesmerizing effect. ‘Waqt ne kiya’ is a memorable track from the film not only because of meaningful lyrics and haunting voices, but also because of the way it has been beautifully shot. The camera work is remarkable, to V.K. Murthy’s credict who created the light beams and lenses for Dutt. The sliding lime lights and later sliding martinis worked very well, they just show the creativity even more in the making of the film.

It is India’s first cinemascope film; has wonderful sets, good direction, fine lighting, superb acting, well choreographed frames to boast about, and in all a very well made film!