SIMPLY SUBI
Subi Samuel is India’s leading photographer. He was recently voted one of the ‘coolest people’ by an Indian television channel, most good-looking men (next to Hrithik Roshan) by a magazine and his work graces magazine covers every month, and you may have seen his hoardings if you’re in Mumbai. The
Kaante publicity had his pictures on them, he shot Aishwarya Rai for the Devdas poster and his exhibitions in India have become national media events. Now he’s coming out with
his first book which showcases never-before-seen photos of Bollywood stars as well as his other work, and he spills the beans on the book, how you can get it, what’s in it and everything else.
In a nutshell, how did you get into photography?
I picked up by chance a book called The Camera Book and it started as a hobby where I clicked some pictures, I worked hard, got a job assisting another photographer called
Rakesh Shreshta, and then moved onto starting my own thing. That’s basically it!
Tell me about your first book and what will be in it.
The books is basically a collection of my photographs from the past year or so with many of them only having been seen at my exhibitions and where the star photos are concerned they are ones that are completely uninhibited and not the type you’re used to seeing because they aren’t restricted as usual by what a certain magazine wants or a certain pose, it’s stars in a very candid and different light. But it’s not just a book on celebrities, it also has other shots I’ve taken of life and from my travels, and a lot of shots that have only been seen in my exhibitions. But yes, Bollywood star photos are a big part of it and it will definitely appeal to a Hindi film fan from the point of view that they’ve never seen a particular star like this ever before.
Your first book is strictly limited, why have you decided to go for such a low-run?
This is a conscious effort because there will be a limited print run of the book but when you take out how many are given to those who have taken part in the shoots and all, it reduces the numbers and we wanted to give it an exclusive feel. It really will be a collector’s item because apart from being the first edition of my first book, there will be a very small amount of books available in different parts of the world. The books will be sold on a pre-order basis so when it is released there won’t be any copies available! We’re doing this as an experiment and also to retain an exclusive feel of the book. If you own a copy, you’ll be one of few. That’s the way we want it.
When will the book be released?
The book will be released at my next exhibition which completes the Soul trilogy, and that is in the last week of February. It’s going to be a very special event and I’m looking forward to it.
What sort of pictures do you have in the book and what can fans expect?
Well, the first thing they can expect is the unexpected! As I’m revealing in the few publicity shots I’m allowing to sneak out from the book pre-release, it has various stars as you’ve never seen them and as the shots reveal, anyone who follows my work will see exactly what they’ve come to expect of it: wild, wacky shots and completely crazy ones which I want to talk about but can’t, you’ll have to wait for the book! But the teaser shots are basically representative of the kind of things I’ve made stars do. They’ve adopted various garbs and disguises and others have them looking ultra-cool or in a pose that you wouldn’t expect. It’s completely a concept book.
Who have taken part in the book?
I hope it’ll appeal to all Bollywood fans as it’s mainly a pictorial book and features most of the Indian film industry stars from Amitabh and Shah Rukh to Hrithik, Kajol, Madhuri, Akshay Kumar and Khanna, Sushmita and many more, including the new lot as well. I think Bollywood fans will recognise everyone and enjoy the unusual shots.
How can your international fans get hold of the book?
It’s a limited run so you have to find out who your distributor for that country is, in the UK it’s being done by a company called Bollywood Direct, and online orders are going to be taken through the website of
www.asiangigs.com and in their section on my book. The person who has the sole rights to distribute and sell my books in the UK is Mr Umair Badshah and so if you don’t buy it from Bollywood Direct or Asiangigs.com then chances are it’s someone who has bought the book and is selling it to you! If anyone wants to pre-order the book then they can do so by emailing info@bollywooddirect.com and they will get instructions on how to do so.