In Conversation with Ace Cinematographer from Assam: Abhijit Gogoi

Creating visual brilliance in mainstream

Kaustab Chakraborty speaks to Abhijit Gogoi, an independent Cinematographer about his journey from scratch towards achieving success in the mainstream

Quite aptly put, an actor by birth and cinematographer by choice, Abhijit Gogoi have always had a dream to perfect the skill of artistically moving the camera to capture action in films. An independent cinematographer and a member of WICA (Western India Cinematographer Association), Mumbai, Abhijit has the experience of over a dozen films as assistant cinematographer under his belt and, currently, has his hands full of projects to create imagery delights for various films.

Born in the historical Sivasagar town and a local of town’s Kalibari area, Abhijit completed his graduation from B Borooah College, Guwahati before moving out to Delhi in search of a technical course. There he took up Cinematography in Asian Academy of Film & Television (AAFT) Noida.
Although acting came naturally to Abhijit who won Best Child Actor Award in Assam at the age of 12 and had been actively involved in many drama competitions in Assam, his heart was always in cinematography.

“After completing my course from AAFT, with dreams in eyes and hopes running high, I moved to Mumbai,” he says talking about furthering his step towards achieving success. “As a youngster, it was my dream to assist and learn from Najeeb Khan, the cinematographer of the beautifully directed movie, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander which is also one of my favourites. After a lot of hard work, I somehow got in touch with him and expressed my desire to assist him. Khan then was busy shooting Gadar-Ek Prem Katha and a major portion of the film was already shot. He asked me a few questions on filmmaking and was impressed by my answers. He agreed to take me as an apprentice, but without payment. I grabbed the opportunity right then and there, starting from the smallest of the jobs - checking the light, proper installation of the camera tripod, camera setting etc and gained a lot of knowledge about film lighting. The senior crew members helped me a lot too,” adds Abhijit.

“For me, it was a big thing when Najeeb Khan, after the completion of Gadar, made me his first assistant. That was a huge headway for a rookie like me at that time. The next film on which I worked with Khan was Insaaf —The Justice, followed by Nehle Pe Dehla , Bombay to Goa, Kisse Pyar Karon and many more,” he adds.

Apart from a line-up of Hindi films, Abhijit is also working on his first Assamese feature film project, Bir Chilarai. Many independent projects have also been coming Abhijit’s way. Recently, a Rajasthani film he worked on, Marudhar Mharo Ghar which features singer Raja Hasan in a lead role has been awarded Best film amongst other awards at the International Rajashthan Film Festival and has also received appreciation from the Bollywood fraternity.

 Talking about his determined and gruelling battle in big city, Mumbai, Abhijit states, “My struggle started with surviving and living in Mumbai which is such a fast-paced city. It is quite difficult for people like me, coming from a small town of Assam, to make a mark out here, without knowing a single person in Mumbai,” he points out.

But his hard work has paid off and after doing a number of movies including a few Punjabi and Marathi ones, his focus is now on producing more quality products like he has been doing. Talking about his upcoming projects, he states, “There are two projects with Najeeb Khan which starts from the 18th of this month and my own Hindi-Tamil film which will go on floor by April. There are few more projects which are still in the pipeline and about to be shot soon.”

Abhijit also mentions that there are enormous amount of talent available in the state in the field of Cinematography but one should find the proper procedure to go forward.

About the aspiring cinematographers of the region, he says, “There are number of institutes in the region that impart high standard courses in cinematography, nurture the talents and polish them. Interested peoples should try and learn as much as possible. And after the formal education, they should assist a senior cinematographer for at least 2–3 years before they begin independent work. Assisting infuses a lot of confidence which builds up through experience.”