A photographer's love letters to Mumbai

  • Published
A camel ride on Mumbai's Marine Drive in 1977Image source, Sooni Taraporevala
Image caption,

A camel ride on Mumbai's Marine Drive in 1977

Sooni Taraporevala is a leading Indian photographer, screenwriter and filmmaker.

She is best known for writing films such as Mississippi Masala, The Namesake, and Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay. She also directed the National Award-winning film Little Zizou.

Since 1977 Taraporevala has photographed India's western city of Mumbai in which she grew up.

These photographs celebrate the odd and the everyday and provide a significant contribution to the social history of one of India's most diverse cities.

Her images, cutting across class and community lines, are an insider's affectionate view. Her photographs explore one of the most populous cities in the world.

The works on display at an upcoming exhibition in Mumbai are personal documents of the city's eccentrics, its children, its elderly within the landscape: a gentle mirror to the culture and politics of Bombay with the secret sideways glance of a casual observer.

The photographs are published in a new book, Home in the City, which will include essays by Salman Rushdie and Pico Iyer.

Lilliput (left) and Stellan Skarsgard on the set of The Perfect Murder, Bombay 1987Image source, Sooni Taraporevala
Image caption,

Actors Lilliput (left) and Stellan Skarsgard on the set of a film in 1987

Gun battle at Cusrow Baug, Bombay 1985Image source, Sooni Taraporevala
A synagogue in MumbaiImage source, Sooni Taraporevala
Image caption,

A synagogue, 2012

Spectators at an air show on Marine DriveImage source, Sooni Taraporevala
Image caption,

Spectators at an air show, Marine Drive, 2005

A security guard sits on charpoy at the Juhu Airport in 1982Image source, Sooni Taraporevala
Image caption,

A security guard sits on a rope bed at Juhu Airport in 1982

On location while the movie The Perfect Murder was being shot in Mumbai in 1987Image source, Sooni Taraporevala
Image caption,

A film shooting on location, 1987

Sarfu and Irrfan Khan blindfolded during a workshop on the film, Salaam Bombay!Image source, Sooni Taraporevala
Image caption,

Actors Sarfu and Irrfan Khan (right) blindfolded during a workshop on the film, Salaam Bombay, 1987

Arists MF Hussain drawing at his home in MumbaiImage source, Sooni Taraporevala
Image caption,

One of India's most famous artists, MF Husain at home, Mumbai 2005. He died in June 2011

A girl looks at the ocean while standing on a beach in MumbaiImage source, Sooni Taraporevala
Image caption,

A girl looks at the ocean while standing on a beach, Mumbai, 2015

Men laughing while celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi, a Hindu festivalImage source, Sooni Taraporevala
Image caption,

Men laughing while celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi, a Hindu festival, 2016

Naseeruddin Shah (left) and Stellan Skarsgard smiling on the sets of a filmImage source, Sooni Taraporevala
Image caption,

Naseeruddin Shah (left) and Stellan Skarsgard on the set of a film, 1987

A poster of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during the Congress party's centenary celebrations, 1985Image source, Sooni Taraporevala
Image caption,

A poster of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during the Congress party's centenary celebrations, 1985

The navy band performs ahead of the premiere of the movie Janbaaz at Metro Cinema, 1986Image source, Sooni Taraporevala
Image caption,

The navy band performs ahead of the premiere of the movie Janbaaz at Metro Cinema, 1986

Actor Raj Kapoor at the premiere of Janbaaz while a fan gazes at him, 1986Image source, Sooni Taraporevala
Image caption,

Actor Raj Kapoor at the premiere of Janbaaz while a fan gazes at him, 1986

Sooni Taraporevala's photo exhibition Home in the City opens on 13 October at Mumbai's Chemould Prescott Road