Silver Screen Magic With J H Thakker

Text by Huzan Tata. Images courtesy Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum.

View an exhibition of vintage photographs of Bollywood stars from the late lensman’s collection

(Click on any image to view in gallery.)

He made Madhubala look more beautiful that she already was. The twinkle in Dilip Kumar’s eye when he smiled was brighter when captured through his lens. Jethalal H Thakker, who came to India from Karachi after Partition, set up the India Photo Studio in Bombay – and soon followed several years of photographing India’s screen icons.

Curated by ace lensman Ram Rahman, a new exhibition at Mumbai’s Bhau Daji Lad Museum brings to viewers a rare selection from Thakker’s oeuvre. The sepia-toned images will take people through the history of portrait photography and Hindi cinema – this is movie magic at its finest.

Silver Magic: Vintage Photographs of the Golden Age of Hindi Cinema is on display at Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai (91 A, Rani Baug, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marg, Byculla) until January 12, 2016.