Nemai Ghosh
A self-taught photographer, Nemai Ghosh is most widely remembered for his collaboration with Satyajit Ray and to whom once Ray referred to as “a sort of Boswell with a camera than a pen.” Starting with Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne in 1968, Ghosh remained Ray’s photographer till the latter’s death in 1992. A three-decade long partnership resulted in an extensive archive of over 90,000 images of the master at work as well as some of the best film stills taken on an analogue camera. His pictures shot exclusively in natural light, highlighted a play with forms and shadows, sticking to black and white photography as that, according to him, accentuated the form better. Apart from the collaborations with Ray, his work expands over the world of Bengali theatre presented in the book Dramatic Moments (2000) and Indian folk art in Faces of Indian Art (2007). Ghosh’s last piece of work, before his death in 2020, was the photographs he took of the Golden Temple on his analogue camera, attempting to capture the temple’s resplendent shade of golden in black and white, blending natural light and shade. A staunch believer in the purity of the medium, Ghosh till his later days, continued to produce images from his negatives, as the integrity of the composition remained intact.
A self-taught photographer, Nemai Ghosh is most widely remembered for his collaboration with Satyajit Ray and to whom once Ray referred to as “a sort of Boswell with a camera than a pen.” Starting with Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne in 1968, Ghosh remained Ray’s photographer till the latter’s death in 1992. A three-decade long partnership resulted in an extensive archive of over 90,000 images of the master at work as well as some of the best film stills taken on an analogue camera. His pictures shot exclusively in natural light, highlighted a play with forms and shadows, sticking to black and white photography as that, according to him, accentuated the form better. Apart from the collaborations with Ray, his work expands over the world of Bengali theatre presented in the book Dramatic Moments (2000) and Indian folk art in Faces of Indian Art (2007). Ghosh’s last piece of work, before his death in 2020, was the photographs he took of the Golden Temple on his analogue camera, attempting to capture the temple’s resplendent shade of golden in black and white, blending natural light and shade. A staunch believer in the purity of the medium, Ghosh till his later days, continued to produce images from his negatives, as the integrity of the composition remained intact.
Filmography
Chinnamul | Bengali | Screenplay Writer, Director
Feature | feature film | Fiction | Black and White | Booklet
Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne | গুপী গাইন বাঘা বাইন | Bengali | Still Photographer
Feature | Fiction | Black and White | 132 mins | Booklet
Aranyer Din Ratri | অরণ্যের দিনরাত্রি | Bengali | Still Photographer
Feature | Fiction | Black and White | 115 mins | Booklet
Pratidwandi | প্রতিদ্বন্দ্বী | Bengali | Still Photographer
Feature | Fiction | Black and White | 110 mins | Booklet
Seema Baddha | সীমাবদ্ধ | Bengali | Still Photographer
Feature | Fiction | Black and White | 112 mins | Booklet
Sikkim | English | Still Photographer
Short | Documentary | Colour | 55 mins | Booklet
The Inner Eye | English | Still Photographer
Short | Documentary | Black and White | 20 mins | Booklet
Ashani Sanket | অশনি সংকেত | Bengali | Still Photographer
Feature | Fiction | Colour | 101 mins | Booklet
Sonar Kella | সোনার কেল্লা | Bengali | Still Photographer
Feature | Fiction | Colour | 120 mins | Booklet
Jana Aranya | জন অরণ্য | Bengali | Still Photographer
Feature | Fiction | Black and White | 131 mins | Booklet
Dey, Bimal (Producer), Chinnamul, 1951 | Photographic Still
Roy, Soumendu (Cinematographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Photographic Still
Roy, Soumendu (Cinematographer), Aranyer Din Ratri, 1970 | Photographic Still
Research Centre
Sort By | Year (ASC)
Dey, Bimal (Producer), Chinnamul, 1951 | Small Poster
Dey, Bimal (Producer), Chinnamul, 1951 | Photographic Still
Ray, Satyajit (Director), Pather Panchali, 1955. Apu in Pather Panchali | Photographic Still
Ray, Satyajit (Artist), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969. Character design of ghosts by Ray for Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne | Original Artwork
Datta, Nepal (Producer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969. Hand-painted Poster of Sonar Kella | Poster
Ghosh, Nemai (Still Photographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Working Still
Ghosh, Nemai (Still Photographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Working Still
Ghosh, Nemai (Still Photographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Working Still
Ghosh, Nemai (Still Photographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Working Still
Ghosh, Nemai (Still Photographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Working Still
Ghosh, Nemai (Still Photographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Working Still
Ghosh, Nemai (Still Photographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Working Still
Ghosh, Nemai (Still Photographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Working Still
Roy, Soumendu (Cinematographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Photographic Still
Roy, Soumendu (Cinematographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Photographic Still
Roy, Soumendu (Cinematographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Photographic Still
Roy, Soumendu (Cinematographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Photographic Still
Roy, Soumendu (Cinematographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Photographic Still
Roy, Soumendu (Cinematographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Photographic Still
Roy, Soumendu (Cinematographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Photographic Still
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Sort By | Year (ASC)
Dolly, Narang (Author). The Other Ray, 1990 | Authored Book | 00845631
Nandi, Alok B. (Author). Satyajit Ray at 70, 1991 | Authored Book | 00845614
Mukherjee, Chitrotpala (Author). Shuvaprasanna, 1999 | Authored Book | 00845376
Ghosh, Nemai (Photographer) and Samik Bandyopadhyay. An Exhibition of Photographs. 2000 | Essay | 00731595
Pal, Pratapaditya (General Editor). Marg, March 2002 | Magazine | 00760443
Bawa, Manjit (Artist). Manjit Bawa, 2004 | Solo Exhibition Catalogue | 00875388
Robinson, Andrew (Editor). Satyajit Ray, 2005 | Edited Book | 00846315
Bhatia, Sidharth (Writer). Through a Lens, Artistically, 21 October 2007 | Newspaper clipping | 00635360
Ghosh, Nemai (Author). Satyajit Ray and Beyond, 2013 | Authored Book | 00844523
DAG (Auction House). 20th Century Indian Art. 21 August 2016 | Auction Catalogue | 00862233
Prinseps (Auction House). Modern Art Auction. 02 October 2023 | Auction Catalogue | 00862491
Tiwari, Surendra (Author). Shatranj Ke Khilari, n.d. | Authored Book | 00770722
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Sort By | Year (ASC)
Dey, Bimal (Producer), Chinnamul, 1951 | Small Poster
Dey, Bimal (Producer), Chinnamul, 1951 | Photographic Still
Ray, Satyajit (Director), Pather Panchali, 1955. Apu in Pather Panchali | Photographic Still
Ray, Satyajit (Artist), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969. Character design of ghosts by Ray for Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne | Original Artwork
Datta, Nepal (Producer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969. Hand-painted Poster of Sonar Kella | Poster
Ghosh, Nemai (Still Photographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Working Still
Ghosh, Nemai (Still Photographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Working Still
Ghosh, Nemai (Still Photographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Working Still
Ghosh, Nemai (Still Photographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Working Still
Ghosh, Nemai (Still Photographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Working Still
Ghosh, Nemai (Still Photographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Working Still
Ghosh, Nemai (Still Photographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Working Still
Ghosh, Nemai (Still Photographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Working Still
Roy, Soumendu (Cinematographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Photographic Still
Roy, Soumendu (Cinematographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Photographic Still
Roy, Soumendu (Cinematographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Photographic Still
Roy, Soumendu (Cinematographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Photographic Still
Roy, Soumendu (Cinematographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Photographic Still
Roy, Soumendu (Cinematographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Photographic Still
Roy, Soumendu (Cinematographer), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, 1969 | Photographic Still
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