Cinema Through The Lens: Raghu Rai’s Portraits

Raghu Rai pans his camera on some of the greatest talents in Indian cinema

Amitabh Bachchan and Nandita Das through the lens of Raghu Rai. 

(Photo: Raghu Rai)

(This story is from The Quint’s archives and was first published on 8 July 2016. It is being republished on the occasion of Raghu Rai’s 75th birth anniversary.)

Raghu Rai needs no introduction. The ace photographer celebrated 50 years of photography People: His Finest Portraits in 2015. As the name suggests, the book is a compilation of Rai’s best photographs of people - both celebrities and ordinary individuals - across the fields of cinema, music, literature, art, politics and spirituality.

The book cover of People: His Finest Portraits

We bring to you some of our cinema greats that he captured on his lens. The pictures capture the essence of the person and the actor/director in a way only a Raghu Rai photograph can.

Enjoy!

Nandita Das

Nandita Das (Photo: Raghu Rai)

Raj Kapoor

Raj Kapoor (Photo: Raghu Rai)

Amitabh Bacchan

Amitabh Bachchan with directors Prakash Mehra and Manmohan Desai (Photo: Raghu Rai)

Shabana Azmi

Shabana Azmi (Photo: Raghu Rai)

Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray on the sets of Ghare Baire (Photo: Raghu Rai)

Sharmila Tagore And Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi

Sharmila Tagore and Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi (Photo: Raghu Rai)

Mrinal Sen

Filmmaker Mrinal Sen (Photo: Raghu Rai)

Aparna Sen

Actor-director Aparna Sen (Photo: Raghu Rai)

(Published with permission from People: His Finest Portraits by Raghu Rai; Aleph)