When it comes to photography, the first names flashes in the minds of people of Vijayapura city is; ‘Akki’ . The Akki family is into this profession for about five decades. Being one of the oldest family of photographers, the present generation has inherited photography, the profession which has been mesmerizing people all over the world since the invention of the camera.
One of the family members who is gradually scaling the new heights and marching ahead of all other family members in this profession is, Anil Akki. He is a director of photography and has worked for critically acclaimed films.
One such film which got released on September 21 is Three Smoking Barrels. The film has already been shown in various international film festivals including the Durban International Film Festival, Mexico International Film Festival and several other national and international film festivals.
The film is primarily shot in North-eastern part of India, which many believe is neglected by both media and politicians. The film tries to vividly depict the lives and struggle of people of this region.
Briefing about the film in which Anil has done photography, he said that the film is an anthology of three stories from far East India. With each story exploring a different stage of human life, the first story is about a child who on escaping from a rebel camp hijacks a car. Transpiring in a journey that unravels her plight and prods deep into traumatic issues of children involved in armed conflict.
Directed by Sanjib Deb, the next story is about a boy, a drug peddlar, and his journey into the world of drugs. It simultaneously explores the life of his grieving mother while delving into the region that has become synonymous with drug trade. The third and the final story is about a man, an elephant poacher who ends up killing 15 elephants to fend for himself and his young wife. It explores his treacherous life and the murky powers that control this abhorrent business.
Having clinched an opportunity to work for such an off beat multilingual film, Anil says that the North-eastern parts of India have been rarely explored by film makers. He said that he quit the chance to shoot for a documentary in South Africa to become part of this venture as he found the project more challenging and interesting.
“The North-eastern region not only has exquisite and breathtaking natural beauty, it also faces socio-political conflicts. The region has its own troubling situations mainly among the youth, which has not been brought to the notice of other part of world through media.
Leave alone their issues, even the natural beauty of this region has not been considered as important to be showcased in films,” he said.
Inheriting the profession of photography, Anil also did course in photography to sharpen and fine tune his passion. Having landed up in Mumbai, the capital of Indian film industry, Anil ultimately decided to settle down there. He started his stint by assisting in popular television serials of Balaji Production, which include “ Kyu ki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu thi“.
After working in the television industry, he shifted to films where he began assisting acclaimed Director of Photography such as Jhony Lal for films like Lakeer, Vaada, Benaam, Shaadi No 1 etc. However, the turning point came into his career when he got the chance to work for music videos which was directed by famous choreographer, Ahmad Khan.
Finally, he got first Independent Bollywood Film Project as Director of Photography in the film Toss, Directed by Ramesh Khatkar. He co-produced a short film “Reasonable Compromise” which was a part of the Cannes Film Festival.
He has worked as director of photography of several Hindi and Marathi films, and would love to work for Kannada films as well.