Photobook: Prabuddha Dasgupta, 1956–2012

Photobook: Prabuddha Dasgupta, 1956–2012.

I was fortunate enough to have a brief conversation with Prabuddha Dasgupta a few years ago. Unfortunately our encounter did not eventuate into an in-depth interview, that I had hoped for. I was saddened to hear of his untimely passing on 12th August 2012.

The book “Prabuddha Dasgupta, 1956–2012” was launched at a retrospective exhibition “Prabuddha Dasgupta: A Journey” at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi, India. Featuring over 200 images along with quotes and interview excerpts, the book was edited and published by Prabuddha’s wife and daughters.

In a Business Standard interview, Aleeya Dasgupta says “Most of the hard work was my mother Tania’s, she did all the initial scanning and editing of hundreds of photographs. Amaaya and I selected all the text in the book, and made the final selections of images in collaboration with my mother.”

Flipping through the 292-page book feels like a visual and text narration from Prabuddha himself, of his journey and relationship with photography. In it, he reassures that commercial and critical success need not be a case of one or the other, that there is a way and manner to achieve both. He also professes his love for women, and the body. The book features selections from various bodies of work, both commercial and personal. Noticeably absent is Prabuddha’s image with Milind Soman and Madhu Sapre for a controversial Tuff-shoes advertisement, that was subsequently banned in India.

Prabuddha’s mastery of the black and white image is abundantly evident. The book could have done without the 19 colour photographs included.

The following quote from the book, a wonderful tribute to a great Indian photographer, is a good summary: “Photography, for me, is not about itself. It’s about everything else. It’s about who we are, our experiences, our influences, our connections with people, with things, with music, with family, with life, with everything. I like the idea that my life can be not just one thing, but it can be many things.”

Title: Prabuddha Dasgupta, 1956–2012
First Edition September 2015 published by the family of Prabuddha Dasgupta
Photographs: 19 colour, `92 black & white
Pages: 292
ISBN: 978 93 5235 336 1

More information and availability: http://www.prabuddhadasgupta.com