Chiiz Volume 7 :Fashion Photography
When people stand in front of the mirror to have a good long look at themselves, they always hope to see a better reflection of themselves than what they have seen previously and with all this, they have grown conscious of how they appear and how comfortable they are with what they wear.Not only their clothes, but also their comfort level, express the sense of style and their conformity to the outer world.In this issue, what we have focussed on might not be the mainstream fashion and people might not get the hype that revolves around the fashion world but what we have here is something that is responsible for all that we have achieved so far in this industry. Be it natural beauty by Lynn Theisen, backstage brilliance by Ishaan Nair, or the street fashion by Rohit Arora which is now gaining popularity among the more prominent photographers.The interview with John Rawson is an eye opener. He is has been through it all andhis experiences form a great lesson for all of us. The series of Roshini Kumar with Suhail Nayyar is also a masterpiece in itself which is a true symbol of comfortable fashion statements. Rod Klein and Jorge Gonzalez’s underwater fashion photographs present an altogether different approach to see things.
When people stand in front of the mirror to have a good long look at themselves, they always hope to see a better reflection of themselves than what they have seen previously and with all this, they have grown conscious of how they appear and how comfortable they are with what they wear.Not only their clothes, but also their comfort level, express the sense of style and their conformity to the outer world.In this issue, what we have focussed on might not be the mainstream fashion and people might not get the hype that revolves around the fashion world but what we have here is something that is responsible for all that we have achieved so far in this industry. Be it natural beauty by Lynn Theisen, backstage brilliance by Ishaan Nair, or the street fashion by Rohit Arora which is now gaining popularity among the more prominent photographers.The interview with John Rawson is an eye opener. He is has been through it all andhis experiences form a great lesson for all of us. The series of Roshini Kumar with Suhail Nayyar is also a masterpiece in itself which is a true symbol of comfortable fashion statements. Rod Klein and Jorge Gonzalez’s underwater fashion photographs present an altogether different approach to see things.
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Old is Gold<br />
The film industry of India,<br />
that is Bollywood, has always<br />
been somewhat of a magical<br />
mysterious land for those of us<br />
who stand by the sidelines and watch the<br />
most ordinary people being turned into<br />
stars that ooze glamour and showbiz.<br />
The Bollywood that we see now hadn’t<br />
always been tolerant, especially towards<br />
James Burke the actresses. Today, an actress doing a<br />
bold photo shoot is not something out of<br />
the blue. It is more of a regular occurrence and the internet flooding<br />
with sensual pictures of the actresses is a testimony to that.<br />
An intimate photo shoot with India’s first glamour<br />
queen - Begum Para - James Burke - 1951<br />
The rebellious actress was infamous for smoking and carrying<br />
a glass of whisky in public events. She would laugh at her female<br />
counterparts who despite enjoying alcohol would conceal their<br />
drinks with cola. Her sensuous intimate photo shoot was yet another<br />
blow to the hypocrite industry of Bollywood who would objectify<br />
women and at the same time vilify them for it.<br />
With all the actresses posing to be the next sex symbol, none<br />
compares to the stunning beauty of Begum Para- India’s first oomph<br />
girl. Even today, the black and white, sepia tinted photographs serve<br />
as an ode to the bold and beautiful Begum Para and her irrepressible<br />
spirit.<br />
Now rewind to the era of 40s and 50s where actresses clad and<br />
covered from head to toe in six yards of sheer elegance, presented<br />
a demure image- both on and off screen. It was then that James<br />
Burke, a legendary photographer of the prestigious LIFE magazine,<br />
and Begum Para, the Bollywood actress, shocked everyone with her<br />
sensuous photo shoot which earned her the title of “Bollywood’s<br />
pinup girl”.<br />
The busty beauty dressed in a gorgeous plain white saree and a white<br />
blouse, was 24 when she posed in front of Burke’s lens in 1951. So<br />
sensuous were her photographs that she has been likened to actress<br />
Jane Russell and has been called the Indian version of “The Outlaw”.<br />
James Burke was one of the few photographers that got to capture<br />
what goes on behind the silver screen and also stunning profiles of<br />
actresses. Begum Para’s intimate photo shoot was one such story of<br />
the hypocrisy in Bollywood. In one of the photographs she is seen<br />
as lighting up a cigarette and smiling as if in open defiance of the<br />
existing norms of how the Bollywood actresses should behave.<br />
Priyashi Negi<br />
priyashi@chiiz.com<br />
Trekking to the top of the hills through tiny little paths and between<br />
pines is nothing short of paradise for Priyashi. Books and poetry are her<br />
refuge. She is a foodie at heart and seems to be blessed with a sweet<br />
tooth and a love for all things cheese (pun-intended).<br />
46 Vol 7
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