I slept on railway platforms and streets during the days of struggle: Producer, DOP Deepak Pandey

Starting as a cinematographer to being a producer (owner of Dreamz Images which produces Fear Files on Zee TV), Deepak Pandey has come a long way today. Having left his studies midway, Deepak came to the maximum city, Mumbai, to chase his dreams. But his journey has not been without a struggle; he slept on footpaths and railway platforms, all to achieve his goal. Today, he has it all.

We got in touch with this very man for our ‘Behind the Lens’ segment. Read on…

Tell us about your journey in the industry?

(smiles) Basically I am an Upite hailing from Lucknow. I never wanted to study science but my family insisted and I was left with no option but to take it up. But, I knew that it wasn’t my dream that is why after saving my pocket money for one and a half year I left home. I distinctly remember that when I was in the last year of B.Sc., I ran away from home to live my dreams. I reached Mumbai to get into the film industry, but since I had no contacts, had to sleep on the streets and railway platforms for 15-20 days till I finally came across a unit shooting for a film at Carter road, Bandra.

Is that when you bagged your first show?

Yes, there, I came to know that Vinod Pandey was shooting for his show Reporter. Out of anxiety, I watched the shooting for a day and the next day, I went ahead and asked him for some work. When he asked me about my experience, I narrated him my story. But, as a point of discouragement, he very politely advised me to return home and continue with studies. However, I coaxed him a lot after which he hired me.

Wow, what did you join there as?

I joined them as an assistant DOP (Director of Photography) as I had always been very fond of clicking pictures. In fact, I had clicked a lot of pictures till I was in college. Pandey said that I would be paid Rs 200 a day. But, even after I got the job, I did not have a place to stay. So, my staying pattern remained the same for a couple of months till I managed to get a place.

How was your work going at that point?

(pauses) Since my approach had been very positive, the response that I got from people was in my favour. In six months time, I started earning Rs 1000, a day. Then I used to handle the trolley, do direction to an extent and oversee the lighting. Besides, at the end of the day, I used to report my director, the duration of the footage and also the number of scenes he had shot in a day. I was with him totally for 10 months.

Continue…

Next I took up Farz and followed it up with Nyay. In fact with Nyay, I became an operative cameraman because till then I was good at handling the camera. Then I did Boogie Woogie and Nilam Ghar … In five years time, I started earning Rs 4,000 a day. After, some time, I became a DOP and then started taking Rs 25,000 a day. By then days had changed for me. As a DOP, I started handling multi camera set-up but disassociated from this after two years because I lost interest in it. I felt that I wasn’t doing much. And that is when I thought of a change.

What did you take up next?

I joined DOP Chirantan Das (better known as Chiru) an FTTI graduate as chief assistant DOP. Since, I under scaled my job portfolio myself from being a DOP to the current position, my pay dropped to Rs 1000 from Rs 25,000 a day. But, it wasn’t money I was looking for; I wanted work that would interest me. With Chiru sir, I got to learn a lot. This was also when my film journey began. When I joined him, initially he asked me to do some theory work for six months and then allowed me to shoot with him.

How did you get back to TV?

Along with films, I was doing a bit of TV but I got a good break after I met Amrit Sagar, Moti Sagar’s son. Amrit and I were friends and since I was doing Pyaar Vyaar and All That at that time, he asked me to send my show reel to his father. Motiji liked the contents of the show reel. Since, the Sagars were starting Prithviraj Chauhan then, he gave me the show. After that I did some comedy shows for Sony TV like Annu Ki Hogai Wah Bhai Wah. Then I was offered Jhansi Ki Rani of which I did 500 episodes. On the encouraging point, I got the Best DOP of the year award at a lot of award functions. Then it was Shobha Somnath Ki and Mahadev. I shot Mahadev for 20 episodes, as at that point, I felt the urge to do something for myself.

That’s when you launched Dreamz Images and came up with Fear Files?

It wasn’t that easy. Since I had done a lot of shows with Zee TV, I pitched my show to them. They liked my concept but asked for time to think over on the same. After a few months, they got back and asked me to work on a pilot. Later, they told me that my pilot will also be my first episode. That’s how we started Dreamz Images and launched our first show Fear Files.

What do you have to say about the issue of TRPs?

We must have TRPs as they work as a motivational factor. They let your creativity stay alive. It is because of numbers that one maintains the quality, concept and content.

What’s next for you?

My ultimate aim is to annex the Filmfare Award as the best DOP.

What advice would you give to aspiring cinematographers?

I’d like to tell all of them that cinematography is about all that one can imagine. You must understand every scene and move you camera with the mood and the performance. And your lighting should help you get the emotions on-screen.