Subi Samuel is a man who likes to be behind the scenes. Literally. He may not be the most well known person across the globe but in Bollywood everyone is familiar with his name. For the past few years he's been ruling the roost as Mumbai's most successful photographer and chances are you've seen his work already. When Rani Mukherjee or Sushmita Sen graces the cover of a monthly film glossy, it is most likely to be a Subi Samuel photograph and over the past 2 years he has held two high profile but low-key exhibitions entitled 'The Soul' and 'In2 the Soul' to showcase his work to select personalities.

On Wednesday 19th Feb, the ace lensman successfully captured the whole of Mumbai in his camera. Whatever paper you picked up or channel you tuned into you just couldn't escape him. On this day the man who has photographed Bollywood's biggest celebrities and held two exhibitions that rocked India, had his third event which was a dual celebration as it also launched his debut book entitled Subi.

Held at the Leela Palace Hotel's poolside, easels bearing his photographs adorned the venue, a fountain was gushing with water and a large printed photograph of Vivek Oberoi was being mounted. At 7pm when I got there, everything was in place for the guests that were to arrive at 8. The photographer himself was looking dapper in a brown suit, the trademark Subi smile and warm greetings for every invitee that came to view his still spectacle. Away from the bustling team hurrying to put the last minute touches to what was to host the event of the moment, I went round the corner to greet an old friend as he pulled up to the entrance, an earpiece attached firmly to his left side and his booming voice saying goodbye into the handsfree device. A look up later and a smile broadly fills his face. Dressed in a smart gold-coloured shirt and jeans, Vivek Oberoi is always a pleasure to meet. The last time I saw him he was shooting for Dum, and before that was pre-Company's release, and I'm pleased the star is not only the golden boy wonder of the big screen at the moment, but also that he hasn't changed at all with success.

"Hey bro!" he exclaims while engulfing me in a bear hug. "When did you get here?" he says after I told him I'd be coming soon to Mumbai but not when. Minutes later we
sit upstairs in a hotel room catching up and talking about how much things have changed since we last met. Vivek Oberoi, who is to open the event by unveiling his picture, is someone I can fondly call a student of cinema. He lives it and loves it like few actors do. It's genuinely no wonder the boy has done so well and is achieving great success, and has an enviable batch of film projects in his bag. Saathiya is a huge hit internationally and is the film that's made a mass audience sit up and take note that a new actor has arrived, and we discuss the reaction to the film along with how he has to travel to witness it before it dies down. He's geared up for his first live performance at the Filmfares tomorrow too and has just returned from the Berlin Film Festival's rapturous response to Company and tells me about all he has planned for the forthcoming months and how excited he is. Another reason he's excited is because his friend and favourite photographer is having an exhibition and with two of his pictures being highlighted, Vivek has every reason to don the smile that broadly fills his face.

A few moments later we pop into another room and Sushmita Sen greets me with her usual charm, reminding me why I'm pulled consistently to Mumbai time after time. She's also a guest of honour who will be launching the book which has her on the cover and inside, she's dressed in black fashionable pants and an Indian-style top as we watch the cricket amidst jokes and discussing the goings on of the past few months. She gets into a discussion with Vivek about New York, a favourite place of both and we're soon waiting for Subi's signal to descend towards the event and unveil his photos and book to the world.

At 9pm the place is swarming with media and celebrities and we're told to wait no more so we all walk down, along with Diya Mirza who is introducing the final instalment of the Soul trilogy of exhibitions and is her usual perky self brimming with smiles. The minute we walk out, a sea of flashbulbs go off blinding me, leaving the stars to walk into the limelight and be quoted by every form of press. Vivek charms the crowd as only he can and Sushmita chats to all about how she met Subi and what his photographs mean to her. As Diya makes the necessary announcements and introduces the guests, the moment arrives to officially open the evening and Vivek unveils a picture of himself covered in grease and dressed as a worker to a great response. Even louder is the cheer that accompanies Sushmita as she cuts the ribbon and unleashes copies of Subi's book on an unsuspecting audience. "This is the only way you'll get Subi into the photograph," she jokes while holding a copy of the book over his head. A few more flash clicks later, the three descend to see the exhibition and Subi disappears into a sea of reporters as he's asked the same circle of questions, all of which he answers with his trademark smile as he tries to catch his breath and consume the excitement that is generated from the arena.

Subi has certainly come a long way. After picking up a book on photography he began developing an interest in what soon became a hobby for him. Shortly after with a passion to further his interest he decided to assist a full time photographer by the name of Rakesh Shreshta, himself a well known Bollywood photographer who had shot with everybody. Months passed and one fine day during a shoot with Sushmita Sen, after pack up he looked through the lens as though he was holding the forbidden fruit. Sushmita caught him stealing looks through the viewfinder and asked him to shoot. Nervously and with hesitation he clicked away, and she asked him to show her the results once they were developed. That night itself he ran to her house to show her what was essentially his first shoot and the outcome was his birth as a photographer. A small studio later that barely had space to hold one person and a wall inscribed by everyone he had shot became his haven and a year later he bought his own studio away from the busy roads in Aram Nagar, which has since become his retreat. Boasting a studio that is now worthy of the name and a wall plastered with contact sheets of various shoots he considers favourites, Subi's studio is now rivalling DisneyLand for the title of 'The Most Magical Place on Earth' given the photos this possessed young man develops by the day.

The cream of the film industry turn up at the exhibition to wish him well with each name and face spending time admiring pictures, hunting down Subi to congratulate him and making small talk with other exclusive invitees, testifying to the fact that the man who ventured deeper into a hobby has come up trumps in what he set out to do. Among those in attendance were Hrithik Roshan (whose pic was definitely a highlight), Bobby and Tania Deol, Akshay Kumar, Manisha Koirala, John Abraham, Bipasha Basu, Amrita Arora, Shilpa and Shamita Shetty, Aftab Shivdasani, Zayed Khan and a very deadly cool looking Aditya Panscholi with shaved head and goatee beard. These are just some of the stars that came out to wish Subi well and catch a glimpse of the book. Vivek was hounded throughout for photographs by fans and the press alike, and Diya and Sushmita were forever doing interviews about shooting with Subi, it was akin to an outdoor press junket, except the product on show was the talent of one particular man who had captured all he could in his camera's eye.

Finally making my exit after midnight and an exhausting event, I couldn't help but take a last look at the photos on display that highlighted everyone from Amitabh Bachchan to Adnan Sami, Madhuri Dixit to Shah Rukh Khan, all in their unique Subi poses. The hardback book is a definite collectors item of never before published photographs of the most happening subjects, all given the Subi Samuel treatment.

Click here for details of the 'Subi' book

Fuad Omar.