A multi-faceted genius
Cinematographer, painter, documentary film maker, still photographer, jazz enthusiast, raconteur, ace motorcyclist Navroze Contractor was born in 1944 at Wai in Maharashtra and completed his schooling and college education in Ahmedabad.
A passion for fine arts saw him complete his Bachelor’s degree in Painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts, M S University in Baroda. He later shifted to Pune to enrol in Pune’s Film and Television Institute (FTII) where he earned a Diploma in cinematography and direction. He later honed his talent after a course in advanced cinematography with Lazio Kowacs in the US and also learnt video production in Sony Corporation in Japan.
His first assignments as a cinematographer were in the films directed by avant garde film makers whose forte was parallel cinema. After collaborating with famous director such as Mani Kaul in Uski Roti, Contractor made his debut as a full-fledged cinematographer with Mani in the much-acclaimed film Duvidha.
His worked with Nachiket and Jayoo Patwardhan in films like 22nd June, 1897, Devi Ahilya Bai and Limited Manuski Devi, Percy, with Pervez Merwanji, Hunshi Hunshilal (Sanji Shah) Pehla Adhyay (Vishnu Mathur) Frames (Chetan Shah) Devarakadu directed by Pattabhirama Reddy, and a mainstream Hindi film Lalach helmed by a young Shankar Nag.
Contractor later switched over to documentaries along with his wife Deepa Dhanraj. He shot for several international documentaries like ‘La Ballade de Pabuji (Georges Luneau), ‘Dreams of the Dragon Children’ (Pierre Hoffman) and ‘Last House in Bombay (Lude Jennings). Among Indian documentaries Contractor’s work was appreciated in films like ‘All in the family’ directed by Ketan Mehta, ‘Famine 87’ by Sanjiv Shah and ‘The Open Frame’ by Chetan Shah. He also turned director with a couple of documentaries ‘Bharat Parikrama’ that detailed his circumnavigation of the country on a motorcycle and ‘Jhadu Katha’ a film on sweepers.
Navroze Contractor was the only male member in a feminist film collective Yugantar which produced pioneering films like Malkarin Tambuku Chackila Oob Ali, Idi Katha Maatramena and Sudesha. All these films for which Contractor cranked the camera were examples of offbeat cinema at its best.
Another of Navroze Contractor’s abiding passions was still photography. He put his training at the FTII Pune to good use and his photographs of jazz musicians are in the collection of the prestigious Smithsonian Museum in Washington in the US. His photographic skills were also amply evident in his photographs of artist Bhupen Khakkar which is part of the collection of the Tate Modern in London. He conducted a number of photography workshops across the country and overseas, and evinced interest in teaching the young. As jazz enthusiast in his early years he was a regular at clubs across the country where jazz performers were in action. Sports was another passion and though he was partial to cricket, Contractor was also fascinated by wrestling and was a frequent visitor to akhadas in his capacity as a photographer.
His achievements as a cinematographer and documentary film maker however did not come in the way of his vocation as a writer and he was a regular contributor to several journals including ‘Car India’ ‘Bike India’ ‘Zigwheels Unplugged’ and ‘Fast Bikes’. He also penned a best seller titled ‘The Dreams of the Dragon’s Children’ on his film making experience in China.
He also had a lifelong affair with motorcycles and was a proud owner of several high-end bikes. Tragically, Contractor, known as a safe rider, lost his life in a motorcycle accident on the 18 June 2023 when a motorcycle coming from the wrong side crashed into his vehicle. He succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.
Navroze Contractor lived a multi-splendoured life and had a very wide circle of friends and acquaintances who benefited from his rich experience of life. Hic contribution to cinema as a cinematographer and as a director will certainly stand the test of time.
C.V. Aravind is a Bangalore-based freelance journalist.