CHENNAI: In an age where body shaming and objectification of women is prevalent, it is refreshing to see photos of ‘inspiring’ and ‘accomplished’ women for their USP and personality, rather than their sex appeal. When Mumbai-based photographer Somsubhro Sarkaar decided to feature 51 women achievers from across the country in his photo exhibition titled ‘#MyIdentityMyPride’, the women who are a part of the photo series became the topic of discussion —from artistic gymnast Dipa Karmakar to Nobel prize nominee Birubala Rabha, the award-winning photographer has captured them all in their ‘unique energies’.
“The 51 women featured in the photo exhibition have energies within them, which can help uplift the society,” shares Som. There are a few women from namma Chennai too — RJ Mrithula, Silambam practitioner Aishwarya Manivannan and sailor Rohini Rau, who made it to the list. CE chats with the trio to know more…
For Mrithula, who was the first generation college graduate and possibly the first woman from her family to work, an invitation from Som came as a surprise. “When I was approached, I was overwhelmed to be part of an exhibition along with several other women I look up to. I only felt motivated to work harder…to do justice to all the recognition I am receiving,” says the RJ as she prepares to go live. Calling her experience in front of Som’s lens verre level, she cannot stop gushing about him. “He asked me to come for the shoot the way I am and the way I liked to be…so, I turned up in a hoodie and track pants the next morning at Marina beach,” she laughs.
Som’s photographs capture the essence of these women in the most candid, bold and ‘black and white’ form and Mrithula has many things to say about his work. “I haven’t seen my photograph yet, but, I know it was captured beautifully. I had my headphones and mike on and it was the most organic shoot ever…it did not require me to do any gimmicks; I was just being myself,”
she smiles.
“Women and their beauty have always helped me earn my bread and butter,” says Som. But, when he realised that women are most often seen only for their physical attributes, he wanted to shift his focus to their inner courage and energy. “This makes women differently beautiful,” he says.
That was one of the reasons why Silambam practitioner Aishwarya Manivannan agreed to do this project. “Women are usually portrayed in a certain way – it’s mostly glamour-specific body-imagining…but when Som shared the idea with me, it was clear that he wanted to portray their true identity…different from what is mandated by popular culture. That’s something I connected to,” she recalls.
Calling this an ‘inspirational project’, she says that a lot of these stories of women are not ‘typical’. “It’s heartwarming that he took the effort to find these women from different and diverse backgrounds, living conditions and so on,” she says.
Aishwarya who looks fierce in the photograph, says that she’s happy that she wasn’t just part of a ‘checklist’. “We weren’t boxes that a photographer checked out of his list. We were real people who had a story to say, and he managed to capture it all in a frame. He brought out a certain spirit in the picture,” she says and adds that she feels humbled to be a part of a project which also features the 74-year-old Kalari teacher, Meenakshi Raghavan..
While these two women say that they had a unique shooting experience with Som, Rohini Rau, the medical practitioner-cum-sailor perhaps had the most unique experience of them all — she shot in a hiking bench, in the ninth floor of her building! “When Som approached me, there was very little time for me to acquire permission for a shoot in the sailing club. So, we decided to shoot the next morning at my home,” she narrates.
A hiking bench to mimic a boat, a stethoscope in the frame and Rohini in her sailing clothes atop her building, with a full view of Harrington road — yeah, that’s what her photoshoot looked like. “He worked really fast and the whole concept was inspiring. It’s not about saying that women are great and men are bad. It’s about equality…and that’s something everyone should realise,” she adds.