Kajol is a dream to work with: Aseem Bajaj

Nothing escapes his eyes on a film set; from a slight imperfection on an actor’s face to the hint of a scowl on a director’s – he sees it all. Aseem Bajaj, an Indian cinematographer, is also a distinguished member of the Guild of British Camera Technicians (GBCT) for his contribution to British cinema. Bajaj’s indelible, artistic strokes sweep the celluloid dramas he films, resulting in numerous awards and accolades. He is reticent when it comes to talking about himself but he is more than willing to give you a masterclass on the technical aspects of his job and discuss world masters like Matthew Libatique, ASC (Black Swan) and Vittorio Storaro, ASC (Apocalypse Now, Little Buddha) at length. He has worked with some of the most talented and beautiful faces of Indian cinema – Kajol (U, Me Aur Hum), Kareena Kapoor (Chameli), Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan (Shabd), Amitabh Bachchan (Teen Patti), Sanjay Dutt (Shabd, Double Dhamaal), Chitrangada Singh (Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi) and Ajay Devgn (U, Me Aur Hum, Zameen, Golmaal), but the face that lights him up is his wife’s. His journey into the world of cinema, in his words: I was born and raised in a small village in Bihar, Nirmali, and moved on to theatre in New Delhi in my teen years in an attempt to learn music. I met Giles Nuttgen, a cinematographer working on Shekhar Kapur’s Bandit Queen and I landed the role of a dacoit in the film thanks to the largesse of the producer, Bobby Bedi, for which I was paid a handsome Rs 12,000 – a huge amount! He knew I was interested in the camera department and allowed me to hang around on the sets on the Chambal schedule of the film. When the master craftsmen of Indian cinema, Ashok Mehta replaced Giles as the DoP (Director of Photography) on the film, my training continued. [caption id=“attachment_78470” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=““I’ve never had any formal training in camera technique.” Raju Shelar/Firstpost”]  [/caption] I have never had any formal training in camera technique, but I like to tell people that I went to the Ashok Mehta Institute of Cinematography. Sudhir Mishra’s Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi was my first film as DoP quite by way of destiny as I had moved to Mumbai by then. After that I went on to Rohit Shetty’s Zameen and Golmaal, Sudhir Mishra’s Chameli, Leena Yadav’s Shabd and Teen Patti, Ajay Devgn’s directorial debut, U, Me Aur Hum and many more films. My next release is on 7 October — Love, Breakups, Zindagi (LBZ) which stars Zayed Khan. I did this film for him and him only. The reason being I have seen Zayed in a lot of films and I always felt he was not shot well. I decided that with whatever skills I have, I will make him look the way he should on screen and I think I have done that in LBZ. My first break was given to me by my wife, Leena: I met Leena Yadav in 1994 when she was directing This Week, That Year on television. That was my first assignment as DoP. My first break was given to me by my wife, Leena. In fact, the great sense of editing I have, which helps me tremendously as a DoP, is something I learnt from her. I also did not know how to speak English and she taught me the language which I speak fluently today. If my wife were to make three films a year, I don’t think I would work with anyone else besides her and Ajay, of course. We love working together. The most beautiful face to me is: Leena is the most beautiful face I know. Sabse noorani chehra mere liye Leena aur meri Ma ka hai. Memories of some stars I have worked with: 1. Amitabh Bachchan is one actor who does not take anything for granted. There was a small scene in Teen Patti which we were filming on a University campus in Pune, which required him to cross from the left to the right, near a stream. It was what we call a “passing shot”, which is basic, but he went about it as meticulously as he would a close up. He tried out various ways to walk and pondered over which would suit his character the best and even had a discussion on the walk. Just seeing him go through the scene in such detail changed my perspective toward my own work that nothing, absolutely nothing, should be taken for granted. Continues on the next page 2. Kajol is a dream to work with. I think I have yet to understand how she is the brilliant actress that she is. The first time I worked with her, I was extremely shaky. So I went up to her and told her that if I made any faux pas and messed up, it was only because I was nervous and to bear with me. To which she replied, “I’ve seen your work and I can say the same” which was high praise, but didn’t help my nervousness one bit. She is like a hurricane on the sets — like a loud, incredible and positive energy force. There was this scene in U, Me Aur Hum before which the crew was quiet in anticipation of the big scene that Kajol was to enact. But she was anything but quiet or somber. She was laughing and joking around but once Ajay, who was directing the film, said “Action”, she was someone else instantly and went through the emotional overhaul naturally. When the scene was over, she was back to being the gregarious Kajol we all know. I was compelled to ask her how she manages to work without asking for complete silence on the sets like some stars request right before a big, emotional scene like the one she had just done and she said, “I’m an actress and I know my job. What’s the drama about?” [caption id=“attachment_78472” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=““Kajol is a dream to work with. I think I have yet to understand how she is the brilliant actress that she is.” AFP Photo”]  [/caption]   3. Ajay Devgn is the most disciplined actor I know, which is not to say the others aren’t. When I met him in 2002 for Rohit Shetty’s Zameen, I was scared, not because I didn’t know my job, but because I may not get the job. All Ajay asked me was, “Tu kar lega na?” and we were on. I am very happy working with Ajay; I never get tired as we are beyond just a working relationship. But that doesn’t mean I will address him as Ajay bhaiya and half of Bollywood as my uncle and aunt. I see it around me everyday where people start calling Yash Chopra their Yash uncle and it baffles me! When did that happen is the only thing I want to ask them. For me Ajay is sir, and his wife, mam. 4. Recently, I worked with Salman Khan in Bodyguard where I filmed the title track with him and Katrina Kaif. I was called in to shoot just that song in the film and given a choice to film with rain or without, and I chose rain. When Salman came on the set, he had fever and wasn’t feeling very well but he didn’t make a big deal of it at all. So naturally, I decided to cancel the rain shots but he simply said, “Do it the way you want to, but just don’t get me too wet.” And we shot with the artificial rain, despite him running a fever. I was amazed at his dedication, despite being so very ill. I am glad his surgery has gone well and he is better now. 5. I worked with Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan in Shabd when she was still single and not married to Abhishek. One day, I got talking to her and I wondered aloud about her childhood. When she was a seven-year-old kid, she was just Aishwarya Rai and when she grew up and turned into ‘the’ Aishwarya Rai, how did it feel – did the seven-year-old child in her ever surface in her day-to-day dealings? To which she laughed and said, “I have never been asked such a question before, but it is an interesting one.” But I still didn’t get my answer. She is a complete professional when it comes to her work and it is impressive. 6. Whenever I look at the numerous awards I won for Chameli, I thank Kareena Kapoor because I could never make her look the way she did if it wasn’t for the talent she exhibited in front of my camera. The song Bhaage Re was a rage — still is — and she looked beautiful in the rain song. The script was about one rainy night in Mumbai and Kareena stood for hours in the rain for me to light up scenes, everyday. Not many actors stand in for their light, leave alone in pouring, artificial rain. But Kareena did it every single time and that helped me illuminate her beautiful face so well in the film. She is a brilliant actress to work with.