Priya Seth (born 1975) is an Indian

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

, best known for her work in Indian

feature films A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

, advertisements, and underwater filming and photography. She is among a handful of women cinematographers currently working in the Indian mainstream cinema.

Early life

Seth was born in

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...

, India and was educated at Cathedral and John Connon School and Welham Girls' School, a boarding school in

Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...

. After school, she pursued a degree in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, and then later went on a six-month film-making course at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts.

Career

Early career

After graduating, Seth got her first job as a

clapper Clapper or Clappers may refer to: Miscellaneous *Clapper, part of a bell *Clapper (musical instrument), consisting of two pieces of wood struck together *Clapper bridge, an ancient form of bridge *Clapper Post, urban postal service of Vienna (XVI ...

and assistant cameraman on Deepa Mehta's 1998 film ''

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

'', followed by

Jane Campion Dame Elizabeth Jane Campion (born 30 April 1954) is a New Zealand filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing the critically acclaimed films ''The Piano'' (1993) and '' The Power of the Dog'' (2021), for which she has received a tot ...

's ''

Holy Smoke! ''Holy Smoke!'' is a 1999 independent romantic comedy-drama film directed by Jane Campion, and starring Kate Winslet and Harvey Keitel. Its plot follows an American exit counselor (Keitel) who attempts to deprogram a young Australian woman (W ...

'', which was partially filmed in India in 1999. After that, she worked on diverse projects such as music videos and commercials for

FMCG Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), also known as consumer packaged goods (CPG), are products that are sold quickly and at a relatively low cost. Examples include non-durable household goods such as packaged foods, beverages, toiletries, cand ...

brands, before returning to the cinema industry. Seth is a trained scuba diver and is known for her expertise in her underwater filming and photography. She has been the underwater DOP for

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

films like '' Dhobi Ghat'' and ''

Mardaani 2 ''Mardaani 2'' is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film and a sequel to the 2014 film ''Mardaani''. It is directed by Gopi Puthran who wrote the previous film, marking his directorial debut, and backed by Aditya Chopra through Yash ...

''.

Feature films

Seth's first solo

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

project was the indie ''

Barah Aana ''Barah Aana'' is a 2009 Indian black-comedy drama film written and directed by Raja Menon. The title refers to Barah (12) in Hindustani (or ), 3/4 Rupees (75 paise), which was a unit of Indian currency before decimalisation. ''Barah Aana'' st ...

'', directed by

Raja Krishna Menon Raja Krishna Menon is an Indian film writer, director and producer. He started as an advertisement director and later moved to feature films. He has directed three Bollywood films. His most recent film Chef was released on 7 October 2017. Ea ...

and starring

Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He is notable in Indian parallel cinema. He has also starred in international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfare A ...

. She reunited with Menon on his 2016

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

film ''

Airlift An airlift is the organized delivery of supplies or personnel primarily via military transport aircraft. Airlifting consists of two distinct types: strategic and tactical. Typically, strategic airlifting involves moving material long distanc ...

'', starring

Akshay Kumar Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian-born naturalised Canadian Quote: "(Former prime minister Stephen) Harper campaigned in 2011 alongside one of Modi's biggest celebrity backer ...

and

Nimrat Kaur Nimrat Kaur (born 13 March 1982) is an Indian actress who appears in Hindi films and on American television. She began her career as a print model and went on to act in theater. After brief appearances in a few films, Kaur starred in Anurag Ka ...

. The film was noted for its bold, raw, and tense camerawork depicting the real events on which the film was based. She then worked on the

Saif Ali Khan Saif Ali Khan (; born Sajid Ali Khan Pataudi; 16 August 1970) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi films. Part of the Pataudi family, he is the son of actress Sharmila Tagore and cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. Khan ma ...

starring ''

Chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

'', an official remake of the 2014 Hollywood film. In 2018, Seth shot the Season 2 of

Zee5 ZEE5 is an Indian subscription video on-demand and over-the-top streaming service, run by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched in India on 14 February 2018 with content in 12 languages. The ZEE5 mobile app is available on Web, Androi ...

web series ''

Karenjit Kaur – The Untold Story of Sunny Leone ''Karenjit Kaur – The Untold Story of Sunny Leone'' is a ZEE5 Original web series. The series captures the journey of former pornstar-turned-actor Sunny Leone, born in a middle-class Sikh family, and her makeover from being an innocent girl t ...

'', a show based on the life of former porn star-turned-actor Sunny Leone. In 2017, Seth became the founding member of the Indian Women Cinematographer's Collective (IWCC), along with cinematographers

Fowzia Fathima Fowzia Fathima (born 24 January 1972) is an Indian film cinematographer and director. Fowzia is known for her cinematography on feature films such as Mitr, My Friend 2012, Gulumaal: The Escape 2009 and Uyir 2006. She is an intuitive practitio ...

and Savita Singh.

Filmography

Feature films

Web series

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seth, Priya 1975 births Indian cinematographers Hindi film cinematographers People from Amritsar Living people Indian women cinematographers St. Xavier's College, Mumbai alumni Tisch School of the Arts alumni Welham Girls' School alumni Cathedral and John Connon School alumni