Actor Ajith and his passion for Photography

It’s not something you’d associate with an action hero. But to Ajith Kumar, photography helps beat the stress of rigorous shooting schedules.

It was in the year 2000 during the shooting of his film “Dheena” that Ajith Kumar got hooked on to photography. The cinematographer, Arvind, was an enthusiast and his infectious interest rubbed off on Ajith. Ever since Ajith has been dabbling in photography, shooting anything and everything that came his way.

“In fact, after I gave up active motor racing, I took my camera to Sepang, Malaysia last year to the Formula One races and shot a whole lot of action pictures,” says Ajith.

But, it was only recently that Ajith decided to get trained by a professional photographer to really understand the technical aspects of photography. “I attended a crash course in photography organised by Raja Ponsingh at his Ambitions unit,” informs Ajith. The actor, meanwhile, had equipped himself with Nikon D2X and D700 SLRs with a complete range of lenses, including a tripod and a monopod.

Camera, a must-have

Earlier it was more of amateur shooting. “Camera became my constant companion, especially while on long outdoor shoots. I’m able to relate better to the filming camera after my interactions with my Nikons,” feels Ajith. While there are no special subjects he would like to shoot, he loves the unusual, candid pictures he has been able to take, like the ones reproduced here.

“It is really true how a picture speaks a thousand words. I am able to communicate better with my friends and associates and, hopefully, my fans will be able to identify better with me and my views and feelings which I convey through my photography,” says Ajith.

Explaining the photographs, he says, “The one of the fish in an auto was spotted by me when I was on the way to a location shoot in Visakhapatnam in 2008.

And, the other one of the man carrying the goats on his bike was taken last year while I was on my way to a friend’s farm near Tambaram. These are fleeting moments and, if not captured on the spur of the moment, are lost forever.”

In the midst of tiring days of continuous shooting and tension-filled hours, the camera comes as a relief to Ajith, the actor. “As an actor, it does help your creativity, apart from helping me unwind on the sets. I am even able to relate better to the cinematographer on technical aspects and interest in photography, as I found recently with Nirav. I am even able to find myself when I’m lost in the midst of shooting scene after scene,” says Ajith.

And, ever since the birth of his daughter Anoushka, Ajith has been recording every moment of her growth. He says, “I’ll probably have more than a thousand pictures of her and it will be a veritable treasure for her when she grows up.”