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Prabuddha Dasgupta (21 September 1956 – 12 August 2012) was an Indian
fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...
and fine-art photographer. Known for his black and white imagery, he worked as a fashion photographer for more than three decades. His books included ''Women'' (1996), a collection of portraits and nudes of urban Indian women.


Biography


Early life and background

Prabuddha Dasgupta was born in
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
in September 1956. His father was, Prodosh Das Gupta, a sculptor. and curator of the
National Gallery of Modern Art National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
(NGMA), Delhi from 1957 to 1970; the family stayed within the premises. In the 1970s, his father moved to
Nizamuddin West Nizamuddin West is an upscale residential locality, conveniently located south of India gate. It is a historically busy neighbourhood in Central Delhi and has many parks and trees. It sits in the green lung of delhi, with Humayun's Tomb, Sunde ...
, an artists' colony in Delhi, where he stayed for most of his career. He graduated in History from
Hindu College, University of Delhi Hindu College is a constituent college of the University of Delhi in New Delhi, India. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in sciences, humanities, social sciences and commerce. In 2022, it is ranked 2nd nationally by Nationa ...
(1973–1975).


Career

Dasgupta started his career as copywriter with the advertising agency Everest, before turning to photography full-time in the late 1980s. During his career as a commercial photographer, which took off with a campaign for Blue Lagoon Jeans, Dasgupta worked with the first generation of Indian supermodels:
Madhu Sapre Madhu Sapre (born 14 July 1971) is an Indian supermodel from Maharashtra. She won Femina Miss India pageant in 1992. Career In the 1990s, Sapre was an athlete who rose to fame when she started modeling at a very young age. As Miss India she ...
,
Feroze Gujral Feroze Gujral is a philanthropist, art aficionado, patron, businesswoman, columnist and media personality. Career The Gujral Foundation and Outset India She is the founder and director of The Gujral Foundation, a non-profit trust set up in ...
, Shyamolie Verma and
Mehr Jesia Mehr Jesia (born 30 November 1968) is a former Miss India and an Indian supermodel. Early life and background Jesia was born into a Parsi family on 30 November 1968. She completed her schooling in J B Vaccha High School for Parsi Girls, Dadar,M ...
. According to historian,
William Dalrymple William Dalrymple may refer to: * William Dalrymple (1678–1744), Scottish Member of Parliament * William Dalrymple (moderator) (1723–1814), Scottish minister and religious writer * William Dalrymple (British Army officer) (1736–1807), Scott ...
, with whom he worked on his book ''Edge of Faith,'' "
Rohit Khosla Rohit Khosla (29 November 1958 – 16 February 1994) was a pioneer of contemporary fashion industry in India. Khosla studied in England, worked with designers in New York, but returned to India to start his own label in 1987, along with his si ...
and
Rohit Bal Rohit Bal is an Indian fashion designer. He designs for both men and women. Early life Rohit Bal was born in the city of Srinagar in the Jammu and Kashmir state of India on 8 May 1961 into a Kashmiri Pandit family. Bal received his Bach ...
, along with Dasgupta, invented glamour in India." A self-taught photographer, he received the Yves Saint Laurent grant for photography in 1991, for his photograph of model Feroze Gujral, shot for designer
Suneet Varma Suneet Varma (born 1964) is an Indian fashion designer. He launched his first Couture collection in 1987 after returning from Europe where he worked for Yves Saint Laurent to master traditional artisanal techniques. He set up a self-named bout ...
. He shot the first advertisements of
KamaSutra condoms KamaSutra Condoms is India's second largest condom brand. It is manufactured by J.K. Ansell Ltd. (JKAL), which was a 50:50 joint venture between Raymond Group, India's largest fabric and branded apparel company, and Ansell Limited. It is now owned ...
in 1991, with models
Pooja Bedi Pooja Bedi (born 11 May 1970) is an Indian actress, television talk show host and newspaper columnist. She is the daughter of Indian actors Kabir Bedi and Protima Bedi. She participated in the reality television shows ''Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa'', ''N ...
and
Marc Robinson Marc Robinson is an Indian actor and former model. He is also a beauty pageant director and a grooming expert. Robinson initiated his career in the fashion, entertainment and media industry as a leading supermodel and later moved on as a telev ...
, which not only became popular, but also turned KS into India's top-selling condom brand. Another ad campaign he shot, was for 'Tuff Shoes' in 1995, which featured models,
Milind Soman Milind Soman (born 4 November 1965) is an Indian actor, supermodel, film producer, and fitness enthusiast. He was a contestant on '' Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 3''. Early and personal life Soman was born on 4 November 1965 in Glasgow, ...
and Madhu Sapre. Dasgupta worked for ''Vogue,'' ''Elle,'' ''Harper's Bazaar'' and ''GQ.'' He published several art books of his photographs, including ''Women'' (1996), ''Ladakh'' (2000) with landscapes of
Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...
, and his 2009 book ''Edge of Faith'' authored by
William Dalrymple William Dalrymple may refer to: * William Dalrymple (1678–1744), Scottish Member of Parliament * William Dalrymple (moderator) (1723–1814), Scottish minister and religious writer * William Dalrymple (British Army officer) (1736–1807), Scott ...
, with portraits of the Catholic community in
Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
, was published in 2009. His work has been internationally exhibited, in solo and group shows and is held in the collections at Museo Ken Damy, Brescia (Italy) and Galleria Carla Sozzani, Milan. His first personal show titled, ''Longing'' was held in New York in 2007, and was reviewed by ''
The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Philip ...
.'' During his career he also mentored "a generation" of photographers, including
Tarun Khiwal Tarun Khiwal (born 1965) is an Indian fashion and commercial photographer. An engineer by education, he left his first job in 1989, and apprenticed with photographers, Hardev Singh, Atul Kasbekar and Prabuddha Dasgupta, before starting out on h ...
and Bharat Sikka, who assisted him in the 1990s. In his later years, Dasgupta moved to
Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
. He died in
Alibaug Alibag, also known as Alibaug (Pronunciation: libaːɡ, is a coastal town and a municipal council in Raigad District of Maharashtra, India. It is the headquarters of the Raigad district and is south of the city of Mumbai. Alibag is part of ...
near Mumbai, following a heart attack on the way to the airport, after a fashion shoot in Alibaug, age 55. A memorial meeting in his honour was held on 25 August 2013 at NGMA, New Delhi, wherein tributes were paid by
Mira Nair Mira Nair (born 15 October 1957) is an Indian-American filmmaker based in New York City. Her production company, Mirabai Films, specializes in films for international audiences on Indian society, whether in the economic, social or cultural sphe ...
,
Raghu Rai Raghu Rai (born 1942), is an Indian photographer and photojournalist. He was a protégé of Henri Cartier-Bresson, who appointed Rai, then a young photojournalist, to Magnum Photos in 1977. Rai became a photographer in 1965, and a year later ...
and
Dayanita Singh Dayanita Singh (born 18 March 1961) is an Indian photographer whose primary format is the book. She has published fourteen books. Singh's art reflects and expands on the ways in which people relate to photographic images. Her later works, draw ...
; the gathering ended with an audio-visual montage of his works. As a tribute to him, the theme of the 2nd Delhi Photo Festival (2013) was chosen as "Grace", inspired by a talk Dasgupta gave at the 1st edition of the festival in 2011, "I want to have a long string of images, held together by grace, because grace is that undefineable, non-rational, non-linear word that I am looking for…"


Personal life

Dasgupta was married to Tania Sethi, a graphic designer who was also his life-long creative collaborator, and with whom he had two daughters. From 2000 till his death, his
mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a d ...
was the model Lakshmi Menon.


Books

* ''Women.'' Viking, 1996. * ''Ladakh,'' Viking, 2000. . * ''Edge of Faith,'' with William Dalrymple, Seagull Books, 2009. .


References


General references


"Profile of Prabuddha Dasgupta on SaffronArt.com"



External links

*
"Selection of Prabuddha Dasgupta's photographs of Indian women"


{{DEFAULTSORT:Dasgupta, Prabuddha 20th-century Indian photographers 1956 births 2012 deaths Indian fashion photographers Commercial photographers Artists from Kolkata Hindu College, Delhi alumni Fine art photographers Photographers from West Bengal