Goutam Ghose and son Ishaan win best cinematography at Asian Art Film award for ‘Parikrama’

Kolkata: Goutam Ghose and his son Ishaan jointly secured the Best Cinematography trophy for the film ‘Parikrama' at the 1st Asian Art Film Award, hosted in Macau on April 23. Notably, this marks the first time a father-son cinematographer pairing from Kolkata earned an international accolade.
After collecting the award, Ishaan shared with TOI that the pursuit of awards is not on their minds during filmmaking. He stated, "Serious filmmaking is a very long process. The most difficult thing in good cinematography is to capture emotions with authenticity. Good cinematography should be seamless and very immersive to get viewers inside the world of the characters. Our film won the award among some really wonderful films. So, I hope the jury saw something authentic and honest."

Goutam expressed his delight over the recognition and recalled his experience as a National Film Awards jury member in 1986. He recollected that it was the only occasion when the celebrated Subrata Mitra received a National Award. "My co-jury member, Jaya (Bachchan), suggested that the decision for cinematography be left to me since I am a cameraman. I suggested Subrata Mitra's name for the cinematography of ‘New Delhi Times' though another jury member said that the film is quite dark. I remember pointing out that the darkness was created by lights! While shooting ‘Parikrama', we tried to emulate that process in some interior shots of Chitranganda (Singh) or the early morning or night shoots of Marco (Leonardi)," Goutam said.
Reflecting on collaborative cinematography, Goutam mentioned the work of VK Murthy and Govind Nihalini on Shyam Benegal's ‘Bhumika'. He reminisced about Ishaan's early exposure to filmmaking, including his visit to the outdoor shooting of ‘Antarjali Jatra' as an infant. Later, in 2008-09, Ishaan travelled to Kumbh Mela with a camera while on a break from music studies in America. "He returned with a few photos and declared that he would never return to America. I realised that he has an eye for the camera," Goutam said. Subsequently, he trained and worked with Goutam on various documentaries.
The Italian segment of ‘Parikrama' was filmed by Goutam before the outbreak of Covid, with Ishaan joining for the Indian segment. Their approach to cinematography involved distinct tonal planning for the Indian and continental parts. "Colourist Debojyoti Ghosh understood that. Accordingly, the colour saturation and colour combination, including the costumes of artists, were planned. Both Ishaan and I love a soft palette. That looks closer to celluloid shoots. It can be manipulated on digital," Goutam said.
Shooting in India posed challenges due to the dynamic, run-and-shoot method required. "Ishaan used the gimbal camera to shoot a known actress like Chitrangada along with a multitude of pilgrims with no one facing the camera. We carefully chose the equipment with two cameras with different sensors being used for the shoot in India and Italy," Goutam explained.
The father-son duo has different approaches while making films. "Whenever I work with him, the story and his vision come first. The goal is to always do things as simply as possible. But that simplicity takes a lot of work to realise how to subtract unnecessary things," Ishaan said.
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Name of the film: Parikrama
Director: Goutam Ghose
Cast: Marco Leonardi, Chitrangada Singh, Cristina Donadio, and Aryan Badkul MSID:: 120647885 413 |