When Muzaffar Ali’s ‘Umrao Jaan’ released in 1981, its poetic storytelling, the enigmatic Rekha, Asha Bhosle’s unforgettable songs, and the stunning set and costume design made it an instant classic. Over 40 years later, Ali, Rekha, and Bhosle reunited in Mumbai to celebrate the release of the film’s beautifully restored 4K version in theatres.

Alongside the remastered film, Ali also launched a limited-edition coffee table book with photography stills that captured behind-the-scenes of the film’s making. “My background in advertising and painting has made me aware of the power that images hold. I thought a book would help in keeping the film’s stills zinda (alive) for a long time, along with the different layers of truth that go behind a single scene in the film,” Ali says.

To collect the stills for the book, Ali called up Neha Kamat, daughter of Vidyadhar, the film’s official photographer who captured not only the tragic beauty of Rekha but also the pre-colonial world the film evoked. The archive yielded not only the stills he sought, but also a treasure trove of memories from the shoot— like a black-and-white image of Ali by a lake, explaining a scene to Rekha and the late Farooq Shaikh. He also found rare photographs depicting scenes that never made it to the final edit preserved in the archives of the Kamat Foto Flash, which Ali calls an “institution” in itself.

This story of this institution dates back to 1945 when it was set up by Neha’s grandfather Damodar Kamat. Though he passed away long before she was born, the fascinating world of still photography in Hindi films that he built via his studio went on to shape not only her father’s life, but also hers.

“Most children in India grow up wanting to be engineers or doctors. But I grew up surrounded by reels, negatives, and photographs — of film sets, muhurats, promotional stills, and action shots,” says Neha. By the time she turned 18, Neha knew she had to digitize the vast archive she had inherited to save it from decay. The collection included over five lakh negatives, capturing behind-the-scenes moments from nearly 800 films, some as early as ‘Gajre’ (1948).

Most were taken by Damodar himself, a Belgaum-born photographer who discovered his love for cameras in his teens. In the 1940s, he travelled to Kolhapur, then a thriving photography hub, to work as an office boy before moving to Bombay to work briefly at Bombay Talkies. Soon after, he founded Kamat Foto Flash in Mahalaxmi — unusual in an era dominated by freelance photographers. The studio soon rose to prominence, earning credits in landmark films from ‘Pyaasa’ (1957) to ‘Sangam’ (1964). This journey was cut short after Damodar’s sudden death in 1967, when his son was just 13.

When Vidyadhar was a little more grown up, he took over the studio, not only continuing his father’s legacy, but taking it into a new era. After the transition to colour photography, the studio began keeping two negatives for each still: a colour one for the producers, and a black-and-white for publicity materials. Production houses like RK Films relied on the studio for its still photography. At its peak, Kamat Foto Flash had a team of over 40 photographers, capturing the moments that made a film, like brush strokes in a painting.

Today, the studio has moved out from its Mahalaxmi office into Goregaon, and much of the archive has been digitized — at the studio’s own cost, covered largely through rights sales, says 41-year-old Neha. Directors like Muzaffar Ali, pop culture researchers, film scholars, and even reality show producers regularly reach out to Neha with requests. Each is carefully searched from boxes of chronologically numbered stills, capturing stunt scenes, dance sequences, glitzy premieres and star-studded parties.

But most interestingly, the stills are also home to many untold stories of the filmy world, including how Dharmendra was replaced by Raaj Kumar in Kamal Amrohi’s musical blockbuster ‘Pakeezah’. The few scenes he shot are etched in memory, thanks to the Kamats. There are also promotional stills that Ajay Devgn and Shah Rukh Khan shot together for ‘Kayenaat’ — before Ajay was replaced by Salman Khan, and the movie became ‘Karan Arjun’.

The Kamats’ fascinating legacy has travelled beyond India. A few years ago, it featured in an exhibition in the UK curated by Rajinder Dudrah, professor of culture studies and creative industries at Birmingham City University.

“We wanted to showcase the stills but also the art that is inherent in the visual imagery. Hand painters turned some of them into billboards outside single screen theatres,” says Dudrah. Neha believes the stills serve a deeper purpose, capturing the often-overlooked contributions of those behind the scenes — technicians, light boys, choreographers, and assistants. “It’s their stories I want to preserve, as much as the stars.”

Hema Malini and Dev Anand were filming the playful number, Pal Bhar Ke Liye from Johnny Mera Naam at Bandra's Mehboob Studio when director Vijay Anand predicted that the Kishore Kumar song would be a superhit. He called on film photographer Damodar Kamat to capture history in the making. The sequence had Malini grumpily ignore Dev Anand's advances by slamming shut several windows at him. When posing for a still, Malini held the same taut expression but Kamat felt it wouldn't work. He praised her sensuous eyes and the actress blushed to reveal a hint of a smile. The result was the iconic photograph that was used to promote the film. Only Kamat, who died of a heart attack on November 27, 1967 (also his birthday) at the age of 47, wasn't around to watch the film when it released in 1970.
A self-taught photographer, Kamat's love for his craft took him from his hometown in Belgaum to Kolhapur in his 20s to learn the finer nuances of photography from local technicians. In 1945, he moved to Mumbai and set up Kamat Foto Flash in Mahalaxmi.

His son, Vidyadhar Kamat, also a film photographer and granddaughter Neha have kept his flagship enterprise running and meticulously archived his collection of 3,00,000 photographs, including almost every Madhubala, Nutan, Nargis and Meena Kumari photograph ever captured.

Vidyadhar says his father knew the physical flaws of stars he shot and the angles that accentuated their finer traits. “Nutan and Nargis both had oblong faces so my father would click them from eye level or lower,” he adds. Vidyadhar and his daughter Neha have now teamed up with ex-banker Indrayani Deekshit, who has previously written a book on the history of Allahabad Bank, in researching and penning a biography on his late father’s work.

Sitting in their Goregaon office, surrounded by archival images, Vidyadhar gets nostalgic. “My father used to drive a Plymouth in those days,” he says, explaining that lugging the camera and its affiliated equipment warranted a station wagon. It was the same vehicle, Vidyadhar remembers, that he would hope to spot, waiting at a bus stop after school. Each time he did, it meant he tag along for shoots where he would be treated like royalty and offered cold drinks and snacks.

Back then, photography was an intense affair. “One had to compose the shot, remove the magazine, check the ground glass, recompose, reinsert the magazine and remove the blinder before a single shot could be taken,” he explains, adding that each photograph took about 10 minutes and that cameras had no view finders either, leaving a lot to intuition. “Even actors were patient and would hold the expression and pose," he adds, pointing out that this was commendable, considering they held a look braving blazing heat of the tungsten lights.

Film stills were also used to extract more funds from producers. “The makers would show the cost incurred in elaborate sets, costumes, locations and even make a case for further funding," explains Vidyadhar, adding how show cards were made with the same stills to project during the interval in a bid to publicise upcoming releases since trailers were unheard of.

Vidyadhar wants his father's biography to reflect his time and the state of cinema then. “I want him to be remembered for his work and his invaluable contribution to the film industry," he concludes.


KAAGAZ KE PHOOL (1959)
Often, Kamat held the publicity shoots for films at his studio since it was difficult to lug a heavy camera to the sets each time. After wrapping up the day's shoot, Waheeda Rahman and Guru Dutt arrived at Famous Studios in costume. Dutt wanted to subliminally portray the intimacy between the lead pair. His diktat was that they would have their eyes closed in the photograph. Kamat, who had shot the two earlier for Pyaasa, knew that it had to be a close shot and used lights to intensify the focus on their faces. The result was a still that shows the pair's crackling chemistry and ended up gracing the film's poster.


NAACH GHAR (1959)
This rare picture of Helen was clicked by Kamat on the sets of the film Naach Ghar. Helen was asked to curl up against a pole that held the tent under which the set was built. Being a long exposure shot, the actress had to hold her expression for a long time. Despite being an actress with one of the best frames in the industry, Kamat wanted to capture Helen's eyes and used lights in such a way that the background faded. Years later, when Kamat's son Vidyadhar showed this photograph to Salman Khan during the shoot of Wanted, he requested a six-foot version be made.


SAHIB BIWI AUR GHULAM (1962)
This famous still is from the song Na Jao Saiya Chhuda Ke Baiyan, from the film Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam. Kamat knew that Meena Kumari had a rather broad jaw and so never took a low angle shot. Often, he requested her to mask her jaw with her hands or pallu. This was shot on location, when the actress had just finished shooting the song. Kamat requested her to stretch out on the bed juggling a glass in her hand. He managed to give the picture depth using a back light which separated Meena Kumari from the background with the help of well-crafted shadows. Kamat also focused on her eyes to convey her sensuality and the pensive mood of the song.