Guru Dutt and V K Murthy collaborated in creating striking black and white visual imagery in

Pyaasa (1957), Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959) and Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam (1962). Image credit:
Bollywood Direct (Twitter)
Cinema originated in the last decade of the 19th century as an interesting experiment
associated with the phenomenon called persistence of vision. With rapid advances in science
and technology in Europe and America, this experiment soon evolved into a fascinating medium
of art. Developing essentially as a visual medium, the pictorial aesthetics of early cinema
evolved from the trends in the European visual arts. Elements of composition, lighting and
pictorial perspective were contributed essentially by the Renaissance tradition of painting. Visual
experiments conducted by the expressionists in still photography and painting were also
reflected in the films of the silent Era, particularly those produced in Europe.

Cinema came to India a few years after it emerged as a form of entertainment in Europe.
People would go to the theatre and pay to watch a film. Though the early Indian filmmakers
chose the stories from Indian mythology, history and folklore, the narrative technique and the
visual approach followed was along the lines that was being practised in Europe and the USA.
The practice by and large continues even today.

The aesthetics of motion picture photography all over the world has been influenced by the
developments in technology. India is no exception. Till the late 19th century the traditional Indian
painting was the miniature. As a form of painting, the Indian miniature employs a flat, even
lighting and a perspective which is not strictly realistic. European cinematographers, with their
roots in the visual sensibility created by painters like Vernier, Goya and Rembrandt, attempted
to create images employing directional highlights and shadows.

Development of still photography brought images shot in natural light, images that looked 'real'.
Cinematographers also tried to impart this feeling of the 'real' to their images. The lighting
played a very significant role in the process, but this was not easily achieved. It took years,
when the film negative improved in speed and grain, that the film image achieved a 'naturally lit'
quality. But before that an interesting development took place, particularly in the USA. The slow
speed of the film necessitated the use of very bright lamps with `fresnal' lenses casting deep
shadows. The varied sensitivity of the black and white film necessitated the use of a specific
kind of make-up on the actors. The combination of strong bright light sources and heavy
make-up resulted in images with very harsh textures. The optical experts then came up with a
simple glass accessory called the 'diffuser'. Placed in front of the lense it literally diffused the
light entering the camera, rendering the image 'soft', depending upon the degree of diffusion
employed. While it softened the harshness of the make-up and the sharp shadow lines, it also
imparted to the image a texture which was perceived as not only pleasant but also very
glamorous.
In Hollywood emerged a style of lighting that employed strong back-lighting which, in
combination with 'diffusers', created a school of glamour photography which inspired
cinematographers all over the world.

This style of photography was very popular among Indian cinematographers till the mid-fifties. In
fact, even today, the style persists with certain modifications. Some outstanding examples in
black-and-white cinematography of the Fifties and the Sixties can be found in the works of
veteran Indian cinematographers like Fardun Irani, Fali Mistry, Jal Mistry, Radhu Karmarkar, V K
Murthy, R. D. Mathur, V. Avadhoot, V N Reddy, V. Ratra, Nariman Irani and G. Singh.

The revolutionary changes in the visual sensibility of cinematographers came with the Second
World War. News cameramen brought the war to the cinema screen in its stark rawness. All the
rules of pictorial composition and lighting were forgotten, to capture the reality of war as it
unfolded in front of the camera at that particular moment. Western film-makers, who were either
the direct witness to the war and/or its aftermath, in trying to capture the ethos of the times,
sought stark images with some kind of urgency and rawness. The cinematographers rose to
meet that challenge and were greatly assisted by the improved film stock and camera
equipment.

Films like The Bicycle Thief, which heralded the emergence of the Neo-realist cinema in Europe,
deeply influenced the cinematic and visual style of filmmakers and cinematographers in India,
too. Two cinematographers who emerged during the late Fifties and Sixties, and whose work
represented the post-World War II aesthetics of the cinematic image in India, were V. K. Murthy
in Bombay and Subroto Mitra in Bengal.

V.K. Murthy was trained at S.J. Polytechnic, Bangalore, and later worked as assistant to the
cinematographers Fali Mistry and Jal Mistry, who were creatively the most exciting
representatives of Hollywood cinematography of the Fifties. Murthy's association with director
Guru Dutt, who himself was seeking fresh avenues of cinematic expression, evolved a style
which combined stark naturalistic lighting with innovative camera movements. The best
examples of his cinematography are the films Pyaasa (1957), Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959) and
Sahib, Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962). Shot in B&W (the last mentioned in cinemascope) these three
films stand as landmarks in the evolution of the B&W cinematic image in Indian cinema.

Murthy's images are characterised by extremely precise framing and fine control over contrast
and texture in lighting. In Kaaghaz Ke Phool he innovated and created lyrical transitions during
the scenes through lightly stylised lighting and camera movement. The protagonist of Kaaghaz
Ke Phool was a film director and several scenes were shot in the film studios and on sets.
Murthy's splendid B&W photography captured the ethos of the Indian film industry of the late
Fifties and Sixties in a manner that has never been equalled in any other film. In his
photography he has achieved a healthy and invigorating improvisation over the classical
approach to the film image. He has influenced a whole generation of cinematographers in India.
Having assisted him for many years, I can say that he is truly the Guru of the new film image in
the Indian Cinema.