Mahesh Aney, the cinematographer behind the stunning visuals of Swades and innumerable ads for Coca-Cola, Dairy Milk and Bajaj scooters, may now be a name to reckon with in the world of cinema. But getting here has been a long journey.
“I graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune in 1979 with a diploma in motion picture photography,” recounts Mahesh.
“For the next six years, I struggled to make films on my own, trying to be an independent filmmaker. But nothing happened. In those six years spent in Pune, I realised I was becoming an alcoholic. And Pune did not have much to offer in terms of work. I needed to move to Mumbai and take the plunge. My wife gave me `5,000 and I came here. This was almost 26 years ago. That amount meant a lot then and Mumbai was not like what it is today. But many friends in Mumbai, who I knew from my days at the Institute, were of little help. Some even questioned if I knew what a film camera looked like,” quips Mahesh.
It was his cousin and reputed ad filmmaker, Shantanu Sheorey who gave Mahesh his first break. Mahesh shot an ad for Cinthol soap with the legendary cricketer Imran Khan and Vinod Khanna for Shantanu. It went on to create a sensation in the advertising industry. Mahesh says, “It was my first ad film and it changed my life overnight. Suddenly, I was much in demand. That was the turning point in my life.”
For every student of cinema, the dream is to make a feature film. Mahesh’s dreams were no different. In the late ’80s, Mahesh shot two feature films Dharti Ki God Mein and Police Ke Peeche Police. The disappointment that followed was intense, something that would keep him away from feature films for the longest time.
“Ad films teach you a lot,” Mahesh explains. “But it is feature films that give you the liberty to experiment with and whet your craft. While working on these two films, I experienced first-hand the callous treatment ‘technicians’ — as we cinematographers are referred to — receive. The remuneration was even worse. It was so disappointing that I immersed myself neck deep in advertising once again. For 20 years, I did not shoot even one feature. But at the back of my mind there always remained the desire to work on a feature film.”
At 56 and three decades into the business, Mahesh thinks he has grown old for the world of advertisements. He says, “The ad industry is vastly different from what it used to be when I started working. It’s teeming with young directors, young writers now.” This is one reason which has made him gravitate towards feature at this stage in life.
It was while working for some of the biggest names in the advertising industry, including Prahlad Kakkar and Prasoon Pandey, that Mahesh met Ashutosh Gowarikar. “Ashu just asked me if I would be interested in doing a film with him, and I said why not? That’s how Swades came along,” says Mahesh. Swades also brought for Mahesh a National Award, establishing him as one of the best cinematographers in Bollywood.
After a three-decade-long career involving filmmaking in some form or the other, Mahesh still has a dream that hasn’t yet been fulfilled. “I love light-hearted films. Comedy is my favourite genre. And I want to make a completely madcap caper. I hope I’m able to do that some day,” he says.