Remembering ace photographer and portraiture legend Gautam Rajadhyaksha on his birth anniversary: His most memorable snaps of Sridevi

Glamorous Sridevi as captured by the late great photographer, journalist, ad-man, Gautam Rajadhyaksha, cousin of the incomparable Shobhaa De. He was a wonderful writer and photographer and there are some wonderful features by him in Filmfare magazine, The Illustrated Weekly - and of course his book Faces that is filled to the brim with exquisite portraiture and writing. 

Early on he recognised that Indian superstars needed to be captured in exquisite photographs (many iconic black and white ones), and written about for posterity in a luxury coffee table book. There were too many gossip magazines but not enough reliable sources and mighty tomes that captured the greats. He was 'the' favourite of every single Hindi cinema legend, cricketer, artist, celebrity, society, and even the occasional politician! 

The kindest man, soft-spoken, articulate, literate, a man of great taste, high art, literature and opera, as well as classical Hindustani music... His loss was such, it unified the industry as they came en mass to pay their final respects, be it Kajol (who he launched!) or Tina Munim-Ambani, who he worked with often in the early 1980s. 

Though Madhuri Dixit was his favourite muse, he captured Sridevi from 1983-1997! Some of her great and viral pics were shot by him (all of which we have in the archive here). They got along well as both were soft-spoken and let their work speak for them more than their PR! 

Had the great pleasure to speak to him a few times and remembering him today, on what would have been his 75th birthday. He was suddenly taken, three days shy of his 61st birthday due to a massive and fatal heart-attack. A man with such a big heart... the irony of it all.