Bombay gave my roti, kapda and makan, says ace lensman Pablo Bartholomew

It is perhaps a photographerrsquos dream to capture the most interesting subjects of his time at ease and unaware not being who they are known to be This could mean a bare torso Anand Patwardhan a Maneka Gandhi acting on stage a bit of shirtless Saeed Jaffrey at a pool and a very surprised rsquo80s Liril girl Karen LunelManeka Gandhi performs in a play during her college days in Delhi Pic courtesyPablo Bartholomews 6060 collectionThis however isnrsquot a dream but Pablo Bartholomewrsquos collection 6060 which he dug out from his archives He had earlier exhibited the collections The Outside In mdash A Tale of 3 Cities 2007 Bombay Chronicles of a Past Life 2011 and The Calcutta Diaries 2012 from these archivesDocumentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan Pics courtesyPablo Bartholomewrsquos collection 6060There is no tight theme to this collection as such It has people I have known worked with grew up with and possibly even disliked These are elements of them which people may have now forgotten he says over the phone lines from DelhiPablo Bartholomew Pic courtesyOlivia Bonnal SansoniBartholomew says that he has capped the number of photos to 60 because otherwise it could have resulted in multiple photos of the same person The other reason of the number is a way to acknowledge of his touching 60 Bartholomew however does not celebrate his birthday as suchModel Karen Lunel and background actress and singer Sharon PrabhakarMumbai museTalking about his subjects like documentary maker Anand Patwardhan Lillete Dubey Saeed Jaffrey and many more he reminisces his days in MumbaiActor Sayeed Jaffrey relaxing at the Sea Rock Hotel in Mumbai during the shoot of the film GandhiI was there in the city from the end of the 1970s to all of the rsquo80s for roughly 15 years Not just for me but also for a lot of other young people who came to the city at the time films were a big draw Young people some moderately talented and some very talented came to become actors If they failed they would take up whatever they would get and make a living he recalledPainter and poet Gieve Patel in his studio with daughter AvaanAnother world he said that attracted youth of other cities to Mumbai was the world of advertising The advertising industry kept growing from the 1950s and has been growing steadily till recently People came as copywriters or art directors and saw much growth he saysFilm Director Kumar SahaniOn his own migration from Delhi Bartholomew says I came out from a dull bureaucratic city which was rich in culture but did not provide enough scope to make money and grow as such I started as a still photographer for films and even worked in advertising for a while Bombay gave my roti kapda and makan It is this era that the collection has captured A snapshot of the era in a loose way he saysPoet Adil JussawalaAs things wereThese men and women of the arts painters filmmakers theatre directors actors writers and poets some still alive others now gone form an important cultural grid of the nation looking back three decades recalls BartholomewAbout a surprising photo of Maneka Gandhi acting in her college days he says that Gandhi used to be a part of Barry Johnrsquos Theatre Action Group in Delhi Theatre Action Group he says was like a rite of passage for theatre enthusiasts in Delhi and anyone interested in theatre was a partBarry who had mentored Shah Rukh Khan had later moved to Mumbai and teaches acting here he informsBartholomew said he is trying to invite all the people in the pictures for the showI am inviting everybody possible and also informing them that their images are being used I hope this show will reignite their relevance he signs offFrom January 22At Sakshi Gallery 619 Grants Building second floor Arthur Bunder Road ColabaCall 66103424