Sooni Taraporevala’s Photographs Will Make You Fall In Love With Mumbai All Over Again

Koli Grace, Bombay 1976Sooni Taraporevala

Mumbai is a city of mystery. Constantly moving, constantly changing and everywhere you look, a story. It’s played the leading role for hundreds of artists over the years and evene today, the fascination hasn’t dimmed. For renowned photographer and filmmaker Sooni Taraporevala, the city has been an infinite source of inspiration throughout her career. Best known as the screenwriter for movies like Salaam Bombay! and The Namesake she has always celebrated the individual spirit of India and its far-reaching effects.

In her new series ‘Home In The City: Bombay 1977-Mumbai 2017’ she documents the ever-changing facade of her hometown in a collection of timeless monochrome images that embody the hidden secrets of the city. “It’s the most diverse city in India in terms of communities. I don’t think I could live anywhere else.” Though today it serves as a timeline of change, she never intended for it to be a complete series. The journey began 40 years ago when she took a semester off from her course at Harvard to return home. With a Nikkormat camera she had bought in Boston, she strolled the streets of Mumbai, capturing every moment that caught her eye. “My photography was about catching real life on the fly, a moment before it disappears. Responding to something instantaneously and making sure it’s still a well-composed frame.”

Accident or not, in this series she’s managed to encapsulate the small details about Mumbai that make it such an interesting place to live. Where camels coexist with supercars and ancient history rubs shoulders with skyscrapers. It’s a city of contradictions that through daily chaos, finds harmony.

Home In The City will be on display at the Sunaparanta Centre for the Arts in Goa until March 2018.