A Maverick in Mumbai
Ritam Banerjee has never quite understood the need to create a niche. He seeks inspiration and challenge in diversity — rejecting, redefining and bending genres to give his imagination and his images enough room to breathe. Ritam shoots spas and slums, ketchup and cars with the same intensity and focus that he reserves for Hollywood royalty and Fortune 500 CEOs. He plays no favourites between portraits and photojournalistic work, or advertising, architecture, automobiles, fashion, food, travel, and projects that fall between those stools. Known for his visual wit and high energy, Ritam’s craft is unorthodox, intuitive and fun — and designed to draw out that invisible, elusive magic that lies ‘beyond the canvas’.
Equal Among Equals
In his interviews and workshops, Ritam is often asked what it’s like to photograph Brad Pitt or the Dalai Lama. To have the sheer gumption of fitting Shah Rukh Khan or Sachin Tendulkar, Mukesh Ambani or Jimmy Choo, Gordon Ramsay or Kylie Minogue into a single shot. To peel the calcified layers of fame, and separate the person from the persona, when some may no longer know the difference. Or to do the opposite — to let their celebrity overflow the frame, and fill the room with the scent of success. What is it like to call the shots then? For Ritam, whether they are bobbing on a boat in the middle of a lake or working in the controlled environment of a studio, the photographer and the photographed are equals — equally vulnerable, equally powerful in that one ‘decisive moment’.
A teacher
Anyone who knows Ritam knows why he’s always been popular as a teacher and a speaker. He is as much of a nonconformist, a rebel, in a classroom or on a stage as he is in a studio. Bending every rule in every rulebook, he loves reminding anyone who’s truly open to learning the art of making images that photography is about change. Whether it’s the techies at the IITs or future entrepreneurs looking for inspiration at TEDx talks, design students with dreams at the University of Johannesburg or young filmmakers in Pune and Hyderabad, Ritam loves sharing the art of turning negatives into positives. In an age when conversations on cameras and lenses often become more important than the photographs themselves, he reminds his audiences about the power of simplicity. His Masterclasses with CNBC TV18 are a great example of that.
At Mumbai or Davos, global exhibitions or jury meetings, annual calendar launches or interactive photo installations, Ritam seeks and thrives in the company of creative people, always willing to try something new, together.