Currently a Fulbright Fellow at the Ivy League Columbia University, New York City, award winning filmmaker Suman Mukhopadhyay has been gifting cinephiles with works such as Herbert, Kangal Malsat, Shesher Kobita and more.
The prolific filmmaker has a keen eye, finding art in the seemingly mundane and ordinary. Scrolling through Suman’s social media handles shows that his photographs are stories in themselves. Here are a few shots taken by him in NYC, Bengal and other parts of the globe —
Who creates the Creator?
Taken during a film recce in Birbhum, Suman’s untitled capture is akin to a reflective piece on creator and creation. A comment by legendary actor Soumitra Chatterjee’s daughter and theatre personality Poulami Bose, seems like an apt summary: “A picture says a thousand words.”
The gnaw of time
One from the Bolpur recce, an old temple and its gradual amalgamation with the roots of a tree seems symbolic representation of passing time and its impact on vulnerable life.
Nature as an artist
Captioned “Sunset on Raimangal,” Suman’s naturegraphy makes us want to plan a visit to the Sunderbans to witness nature as an artist.
Palpable existence
“Precarious life” and the fragility of existence — another moment from the Sunderbans. This one is a reminder of the dichotomy of nature in its fragile landscapes and immense power.
Destruction, creation and a language of its own
Yaash cyclone despatches from Patharpratima. “The sculptures of destruction,” as the director titles it.
Watercolours in the sky
Would you recite the lines from Moheener Ghoraguli — Akashe chorano megher kachakachi…?
‘Meghdoot’
Clouds always have their own stories to tell, and it’s one you can let your imagination write. A snap from the ‘Maximum City.’
Still motion
Titled The ‘subway’ art, what perhaps really makes this is the blurry glimpse of a New Yorker rushing through. Against the still splashes of art on the subway walls, it’s almost like a frame of a film highlighting the chaos and stillness of a city.
Photographs can be haikus too
And here are a few…
