This picture is special because it was one of the first few shoots that I did post the lockdown. Mr Amitabh Bachchan himself had just recovered from COVID-19. Amidst all of this, we did a shoot. After the shoot, I requested him to pose for my #PostPackUpShot. He obliged with this million-dollar expression. But just before I posted the image, he called me, and said he was wondering whether it was appropriate to post such a happy photo when there was so much sadness and gloom everywhere. I disagreed. I said a photo like this, and that too, of him, will only bring joy and hope to everyone that things are getting better. He took a pause, and in his inimitable way said, ‘Ok then, I leave it to you’.

This image of Sanju was shot on my first ever assignment in 1993, which was for the film, Aatish: Feel The Fire (1994). I was an assistant, and I had a fanboy moment when I met Sanju here for the first time. The picture is special as it also marked my entry into the film industry. We shot this on a fishing trip in Mauritius, for which Sanju woke us up at 5 am. I had a brand-new camera with me, and I was really scared to take it along, but Sanju ensured I got my camera along and said, ‘You will get the best shots of your life’. It turned out to be a launch pad for me once the hoardings of Aatish came up and this picture was published in magazines.

This shoot was beyond my wildest dreams. While clicking the pictures, my hands were trembling at the beginning. Messi was just a nonchalant guy – no airs, no tantrums, just professional. I have never used a tripod for a shoot, but for this one, I had to use it. He doesn’t speak English, so there was a translator, Jordi, who was helping us communicate. I happened to tell him that I am a massive Messi and Barcelona fan, and he insisted that I get a picture with Messi, but I was too shy to ask. After the shoot wrapped up, I went up to Messi and shook his hand and he walked away. Like a completely filmy moment, he came back and hugged me. That was my moment. After the shoot, I sat on the lawn and wept as I was overwhelmed.

Tara and I shot this picture in a studio, unplanned. It was a rainy day, and the sun came out briefly, so I told her let’s shoot some interesting images. The sun came out for literally five minutes, and we manipulated the shadows by using a couple of branches and leaves to create that sort of outdoor texture. We shot this in about two minutes, yet it turned out to be the best image clicked that day.