Behind what appears on the silver screen is a vast, dynamic, living, breathing ecosystem of labour, material, technology and processes that shape the creative outcome of a film.
Outlook's anniversary issue, curated by Editor Chinki Sinha and guest editors Aradhana Seth and Gautam Pemmaraju, is an ode to the below-the-line cinema workers.
Behind what appears on the silver screen is a vast, dynamic, living, breathing ecosystem of labour, material, technology and processes that shape the creative outcome of a film.
From the gaffer who lights up the set to the set dresser who resets the pillow covers, each person is an essential part of the story being told, the film being seen.
We bring to the limelight, some of these anonymous workers – the backbones of any film.
Mulchand Dedhia, 64, started out as a lighting man for weddings and functions and used to install generators in 1967. He grew up in Charni Road in Mumbai and his father was a grain merchant. For a long time, his family didn’t understand what he was doing. It was in 1978 that he saw a British gaffer working on lighting a set and decided to become a gaffer. He has worked on several films including Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011), Don (2006) and The Bourne Supremacy (2004).