Remember those upfront iconic portrait pictures of Communist stalwart P. Krishna Pillai, Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara and Sree Narayana Guru? Even though they were taken decades ago, those black and white photographs have stood the test of time not only because of their inherent quality, but also because of the truthfulness of their individuality, feels film-maker Venu.
Delivering a lecture on ‘Art of photography and post-truth’ in memory of photographer Razak Kottakkal here on Monday, he said sometimes the pictures might give misleading connotations too.
“That famous photo of Guru may give an impression that he is a dull person. But according to his contemporaries, Guru was a very lively and active person.”
Making history
Mr. Venu said some single photographs such as those might go on to make history as they profess truth to future generations about the lifetimes of those individuals. Pointing out that it was also possible to manipulate photos to suit political narratives, he said they might mislead those who were not familiar with photography. They could be used to create illusions and even to glorify people’s image or to vilify them.
Describing Razak as somebody who brought “magic” to his photographs, Mr. Venu said the portraits of M.T. Vasudevan Nair, Madhavikkutty, and Vaikom Mohammed Basheer, taken by him were nonpareil.
“Razak was someone who took photos with ease. It is important for a photographer to be at the right place at the right time. There is some mystery in some pictures becoming magnificent,” he said.
The event was organised by the Razak Kottakkal Foundation.
