Destiny: ‘Salaam Bombay’ VS ‘Slumdog Millionaire’

After much of the hype that Slumdog Millionaire generated, and especially considering the media frenzy over the fate of Azhar Ismail and Rubina Ali, the two children living in a Mumbai’s slum and starring as ‘young Salim’ (brother of Jamal) and ‘young Latika’ (friend and later lover of Jamal), I was recently assigned by SZ Magazin, published weekly by the German national paper Süddeutsche Zeitung, to cover a different side of the story, concerning the destiny of another young Indian actor whose temporary rise to fame did not change his life.

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A slum section near Bandra (East) train station, Mumbai, India. Copyright: Alex Masi - All Rights Reserved

Azhar and his family in front of their home. Copyright: Alex Masi - All Rights Reserved

The home of Azhar in a slum near Bandra Station, Mumbai, India. Copyright: Alex Masi - All Rights Reserved

Azhar is exercising in the slum where he still lives with his family next to the train station of Bandra (East), Mumbai, India. Copyright: Alex Masi - All Rights Reserved

Children are playing inside the slum next to the train station of Bandra (East), Mumbai, India. Copyright: Alex Masi - All Rights Reserved

Rubina Ali is looking at the mirror inside her uncle's house in the slum where she still lives with her family next to the train station of Bandra (East), Mumbai, India. Copyright: Alex Masi - All Rights Reserved

Rubina Ali is smiling while on the streets near her uncle's house in the slum where she still lives with her family next to the train station of Bandra (East), Mumbai, India. Copyright: Alex Masi - All Rights Reserved

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It appears that almost eight months from the Oscars’ big night of Slumdog Millionaire, and after so many promises were made by those in the production circle and the Indian Government, the children might finally move out of the slums of Bandra Station, Mumbai.

Not only, but it seems the children might end up owning two houses each, or even more, as the details of various pledges are becoming more clear. Both the trust that Danny Boyle set up for the children and the Government  have promised new homes for the families, while there are rumors about a third one in the state of Kerala. If that was the case, the children might have really won it big this time. And come on, why not? I think they deserve it.

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Azhar is laughing with friends in the slum where he still lives with his family next to the train station of Bandra (East), Mumbai, India. Copyright: Alex Masi - All Rights Reserved

Azhar is playing with a water pump near a drain in the slum where he still lives with his family next to the train station of Bandra (East), Mumbai, India. Copyright: Alex Masi - All Rights Reserved

Rubina Ali is smiling while on the streets near her uncle's house in the slum where she still lives with her family next to the train station of Bandra (East), Mumbai, India. Copyright: Alex Masi - All Rights Reserved

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The movie in itself, beautiful, but maybe a little too near to be a modern-day fairytale than anything else. There is some agreement over the clear existance of the social problems represented in the movie, but it would need 1 in 100 billion chances for the story plot to actually happen altogether.

But then, what about all the inspiring movies where something is clearly wrong with the odds of chance? They are movies, and that is a good enough reason. However, they should not be confused with real documentaries or journalism, even though a fictional movie might be based on or be inspired by real events, in this movie we are not provided with a clear perspective or in-depth reporting in the lives of street children in India, gangsters or the likes. We are given hints, yes, and we are offered a partial window over those realities in a way that might be similar to real-life experiences, however it should not be considered exhaustive at all.

Nevertheless, I believe this is not what the slumdog guys wanted their movie to be all about.

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On the other hand, a part of the magazine story was to meet Shafiq Syed, the other famous Indian child actor and main role of the 1988 Cannes Camera D’Or Winner ‘Salaam Bombay’ , directed by Mira Nair. Now a grown-up man of 34, he lost his grip on fame and works as a rickshaw driver in Bangalore, his home city.

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The poster of 1988 movie Salaam Bombay where Shaifq Syed, now 34, is the boy on the left. Copyright: Alex Masi - All Rights Reserved

Shaifq Syed, 34, is portrayed inside his home in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Copyright: Alex Masi - All Rights Reserved

Shaifq Syed, 34, is driving his rickshaw from home to the city centre of Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Copyright: Alex Masi - All Rights Reserved

Shaifq Syed, 34, is smiling at his daughter, Simran, 7, while playing with his children in their home inside a poor neighbourhood of Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Copyright: Alex Masi - All Rights Reserved

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A happy father-of-three, he lives humbly but with the conscious pride of those people who feel they deserved more from what they have accomplished and failed to somehow obtain it. Let’s not forget that in his early teenage years, Shafiq was already living on the streets in both Bangalore and Mumbai, before being discovered and invited to act in the movie, which some say presents reality more objectively than Slumdog Millionaire.

After the fame (he wasn’t however taken to Cannes for the award ceremony – times were different I guess) Shaifq had to return to the streets for some time and he was not even allowed to live in the ‘home’ of the Salaam Balak Trust, an NGO established by the producers to help street children in India after the movie’s success. The reason being Shafiq was a couple of years older than the rest and would not ‘fit in’. How ironic…

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Shaifq Syed, 34, is holding her daughter Simran, 7, in front of their home in a poor neighbourhood of Bangalore, Karnataka, India, while his elder son Waseem, 11, is standing by. Copyright: Alex Masi - All Rights Reserved

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These days Shaifq has more mundane worries like paying the monthly  installments of his now-owned auto-rickshaw or earning enough money for his children’s education. His bubble has burst a long time ago, but when you hear him recounting his stories and adventures in detail, you cannot but smile, feel proud of the man standing in front of you and yes, also grow a little sad.

For more images from this set, feel free to visit this page.

Becoming Invisible…

…or getting very near to it while being around other people is hard in itself in a big city like London or Mumbai, leave alone trying to photograph life in some Indian village where no foreigner have set foot before. Add a particularly crowded environment – Uttar Pradesh holds around 200 million people in an area the size of France – and a big black camera to the melting pot, and you can be sure to receive plenty of attention.

I have been struggling before with the ethical dilemma of balancing between the time spent with the villagers because they are mostly kind, enjoyable and welcoming people, and the ‘need’ to be shooting for my projects to move forward. When the time is ripe to collect images, being surrounded by people who do not ‘belong in the story’ can be unnerving and if managed improperly can affect the reporting altogether.

Apart from the technical and visual sides like composition, lighting, the decisive moment, colour, meaning and more, one has to deal with a critical part of the image: the subject. As a general rule bearing exceptions, it should be portrayed naturally in its environment. Of course there are photographic projects that are based on a totally different perspective and where portraits are arranged, lights are positioned and images shot.

Other portraits are straight-on with subjects looking at the camera and much recent award-winning imagery has been shot this way. However, I generally prefer most of my photographs to portray ‘natural’ subjects or to go as close as possible to it.

It was in the village of Chandenamal, (pop. 1500) in Muzaffarnagar District, more then a year ago, on my first in-depth project in rural India that I faced a serious challenge in shooing the images I needed because the interest in me so many locals showed.

When most children in India would desist in following me for more than a few minutes, here not only they would be there with me for a long time, but they would multiply! People would appear on the rooftops or would peek over the walls, making it really hard to photograph freely even when inside a home, and to avoid ‘unwanted external elements’ affecting the images.

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Some crowd in downtown Chandenamal.

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After discussing the issue online with other photojournalist working in similar conditions, I would like to share part of the helpful advice which emerged from the discussion:

1)  Take time. The more you spend within the same community / family, the better access and less attention you will get to photograph meaningful natural moments.

2)  Little gear and bags. Bring only the essential.

3)  Talk to the people around you, shoot, than talk again and so on. It needs to be a flow, and when a window of opportunity for a good shot is there, take it.

4)  You want natural pictures? Be faster than they are.

5)  Not too fast though. Sometimes, incredibly, you go unnoticed and shooting before being in the right position might alert the subject, however moving too near too fast might result in a similar problem.

6)  Use a dummy photographer / translator to distract the spectators away from the subjects.

7)  Taking some snapshots seems a small price to pay for what you are receiving in return — a generous welcome into a community, the time and attention of people who no doubt have better things to do than tend to you. You’ll be fed and given tea, just because this is what Indian custom calls for. The only things you have to reciprocate are your own time and attention — and if you are a photographer, that means taking some snaps. You are getting back far more than you are giving.

8)  Welcome in India!! People are curious and you have to deal with this behaviour.

9)  Try not to be invisible. The best approach to getting inside a situation or a location is to make your presence felt, and to become part of that situation and location in such a way that people start to move on and/or consider you to belong. Be a photographer, be clear about why you are standing there and speak to people, engage them in the act, get them involved, and share. The goal is to produce images that suggest that you were invisible. (if that is the goal) Some places will be harder than others of course, but in the end you will have to accept that the only way to work through such situations is to engage in them, and to leave yourself open and vulnerable to the crowd, to interact with it, and to simply continue to remain alert to the photo possibilities.

10)  Be patient. Look around in all directions. Accept that you might miss some good images to shoot other images which are equally as good or probably even better and more relevant to the story. This can’t be closer to the truth as one of my favourite images from this set on industrial pollution was shot only minutes after the image above, when the Sun was setting, the time was tight, and the ‘bridge at Sunset’ picture opportunity had clearly become unavailable.

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I experimented with the methods outlined in this discussion from quite some time now and I have realised that something has changed within me after spending more and more time observing, understanding and shooing in India.

The answer, for me, is finding the right mixture of going with the flow, planning and engaging with the people and subjects in every different situation that might be presented to us.

Researching, keeping needs and plans under control is also very important to productivity in-location. In most cases they help in building a stronger and more cost-effective project. Many times they are essential to the end results of the story while problems might also arise due to confusion or inaccuracies.

However, falling under the pressure of gathering material too quickly without allowing oneself to ‘step-in’ the story put you at risk of producing an average story with little chances to be remembered.

Balance, perseverance, and of course up-to-date information and cultural knowledge, are elements that help when working on medium to long-term stories which are likely to leave an impression and document a story in-depth and with intimacy.

I have to say things have improved quite a lot right now, I keep enjoying visiting villages and since a few months I have surely found a better balance with India altogether, and I like it.

Here for more images about pollution and its effects on children in Uttar Pradesh.

Foundry Photojournalism Workshop 2009 and Redux Scholarship

At the end of July 2009 I will be at the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India.

 I am thrilled by the chance of being there as the Foundry Workshop has been created to provide training, education and networking to emerging photographers and students. Foundry is a grassroots workshop series held in inspiring and photographically challenging global locations. During the workshop some of the greatest photographers and photojournalists out there will be helding classes and helping in the concept and editing of a new project. See the list of Instructors here. 

The area also is amazing, going very near to the world’s highest mountain range, the Himalayas. Check some more of the images on Manali here.

 

Manali - Copyright Ashwani Kaul - via Flickr

And to put the cherry on top of the cake… I have recently won a scholarship from Redux Pictures to attend the Foundry Workshop free of charge, which is, I have to say, amazing.  Thank you to Eric Beecroft , the organiser and founder of the workshop, to Marcel Saba director of Redux, and to the other members of the jury that made it happen.

My winning series is available here.

An elder villager is attacking Pardip, a 12-year-old boy from Simlana village, (pop.4000) Uttar Pradesh, India, for no apparent reason. Pardip developed a neurological disorder at the age of two due to the long-term effects of consuming contaminated water.

More from Manali nearer to the beginning of the 7-day-workshop on July the 26th 2009.

‘Million Dollar Squatters’ – Audio Slideshow

My last personal project in the UK, before leaving for Asia has been a long-term photographic documentary focusing on the lifestyle and adventures of an ambitious group of squatters taking over mansions in the exclusive neighborhood of Hampstead Garden, London.

You can access an audio slideshow where some of the members of the group also talk about their experiences, lives  and opinions by clicking on the image below. I am very glad I got to know them well and that we have spent so many days together. It has been a time I will never forget and I am looking forward to see each and every one of them when I will be back in London.

I named this reportage ‘Million Dollar Squatters‘. The houses sure worth millions, my dear friends even more!

The magnificent view of the park has provided the perfect surrounding to the story. The squatters’ enthusiasm, their constant efforts to look after what has become their home, their ingenuity and adventurous spirit have all inspired me throughout the days and nights I have spent at their side.

Between the fantasy world of exclusive Britain and the reality of squatting in London, I have been a witness to their unique story.

While an estimated 100.000 properties in London still lay empty to this day, squatting provides a valid, and lawful alternative to paying Europe’s most expensive rent prices, as well as offering the challenge of an ‘different’ lifestyle in the trendy capital.

Thank you guys!

Read more about squatting in the UK on the Advisory Service for Squatters.

‘What is Crime’ – Photo Competition

I am very happy to say that I was selected as a winner for the ‘Environment’ category in the ‘What is Crime’ photography competition, organised by King’s College in London, UK.

Here is the winning image:

The blackened, contaminated waters of the Krishni River are photographed in the village of Chandenamal, (pop. 1500) Muzaffarnagar District, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Also, my portrait of children working in tannery units in Jajmau Industrial Area in Kanpur, UP, India, was selected as runner-up for the same competition  in the category ‘Finance’. 

Two children are using their feet to find the remaining skins in a bath during the process of liming, the removal of hair and impurities with the use of water and various agents, in an illegal tannery unit inside Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. Children are largely employed to work on scraps, or little pieces of skin, like the head and the ears of the animal, which will become a small bag, a wallet, or maybe a cheap phone leather case.

An exhibition will run from the 4th of July to the 28th of August 2009 at the ‘198 Gallery’ in Brixton, south London.  

Unfortunately I won’t make it for the opening as I will still be in India by then, but I hope some of you can visit and have a good time looking at all the work that will be shown there.

See more images from ‘Slow Poison’ and ‘Productive Lives’ on my website.

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