Bollywood's Legendary Photographer Gautam Rajadhyaksha passed away in Mumbai

Bollywood's legendary photographer Gautam Rajadhyaksha passed away in Mumbai on 13 September 2011. Born in 1950 in Mumbai, Rajadhyaksha went on to become synonymous with Bollywood portrait photography during the 80s and 90s and also experimented in film making and writing screen plays.

Cousin to novelist Shobhaa De started his career as a copy editor in Lintas. He later left his advertising job and took up commercial photography full-time, and soon started doing product campaigns, media assignments and fashion portfolios. Gautam's first encounter with fashion photography happened in 1980, when he shot pictures of veteran actress Shabana Azmi, Tina Munim and Jackie Shroff.

Making celebrity portraits was Rajadhyaksha's specialty and he went on to become an iconic figure in the industry. He gained recognition as a glamour photographer when he started to take his own pictures for star interviews. He moved to working for magazines such as The Illustrated Weekly of India , and film magazines like Stardust , Cineblitz and Filmfare.

Rajadhyaksha’s work ranged from portraits of well known personalities from industrial tycoons to film stars to aspiring actresses. In a photography career spanning around 30 years, he worked with almost all glossies shooting covers for them.

In 1992, he wrote his first screenplay for the film, Bekhudi, which launched actor Kajol's career. In 1997, he released a coffee table book titled FACES, containing 45 film personalities.