Nemai Ghosh

Nemai Ghosh was a photographer and legend in Indian cinema. His profound work is inextricably linked to the legacy of Satyajit Ray. Dubbed ‘Boswell with a camera,’ Ghosh chronicled nearly three decades of Ray’s cinematic career, capturing not only the director’s filmic sensibilities but also intimate moments behind the scenes. His first meeting with Ray, during the filming of Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, marked the beginning of an extraordinary partnership - one that manifested over 90,000 images, a stunning visual biography. Known for black-and-white photographs shot in natural light, Ghosh’s candid portraits of iconic actors like Sharmila Tagore and Suchitra Sen have immortalised a seminal chapter in, arguably the essence of, Bengali cinema. Beyond the realm of Ray’s productions, Ghosh documented significant theatrical performances and many indigenous communities through the course of his career, and we owe a great deal of the archive of India’s diverse peoples and cultures to his efforts. Ghosh received the Padma Shri in 2010, the country’s highest civilian honour and a testament to his enduring influence in the visual arts. His monumental work, the power of iconography, is remembered and celebrated in numerous contemporary collections and publications.

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