“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”
About sixteen years ago, during my stint as a tennis player trying to make a mark in the highly competitive world of professional tennis, I had found myself with my back to the wall. To boost my morale, my mum in one of her countless letters had written: “You should get the better of the situation rather than the situation getting the better of you.” Since then this line has been my guiding force whenever I am encountered with life’s hurdles. It held relevance even when, as an actor in the movie business, I was bereft and tired of waiting around for opportunities that the artist in me craved for. I told myself that I would not be bogged down by this situation. Instead I would use it as an opportunity to pave a way for myself and expand my horizons. In this spirit I began my search for an independent platform from which I could express myself freely as an actor and hone my craft. After a lot of pondering I finally found a way in the form of a photographic book.
At the onset, along with my photographer friends and collaborators, Ronny Sequeira and Hardeep Sachdev, I started off by exploring how I could push the boundaries of this book to the point where it would be visually appealing and meaningful at the same time. After considering and dismissing many concepts, I finally hit upon the idea of bringing the book to life by adapting, interpreting and recreating in an Indian milieu, a film that has inspired and fascinated the actor in me... a film that has stood the test of time... a film that gets better with each viewing... Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘The Godfather’. To accomplish this mammoth task, I decided to interpret it from the point of view of the character of Michael Corleone which was brilliantly portrayed by Al Pacino. This way I would not only pay tribute to the iconic actor, director and the film but also interpret ‘cinema onto a page’ through the medium of still photography.
With the first step finally taken, I set off on my journey... now all I had to do was keep walking!
Bikramjeet Singh Saluja
