Subrata Mitra

Subrata Mitra is an Indian Cinematographer who revolutionized filmmaking with the innovation of bounce lighting. He was born on October 12, 1930, in Calcutta into a Bengali middle class family. Being a movie enthusiast, he wanted to pursue the profession of a cinematographer or an architect. In 1950, he started learning the art of lighting at the sets of the movie The River. The movie was being directed by the great director Jean Renoir where he studied lighting on film sets, during this point of time he met Satyajit Ray Biographies reveal bare details about the maverick >> Read More... who was working as a graphic designer at the set. At the age of twenty one, Mitra began his career as a cinematographer in Satyajit Ray’s movie Pather Panchali. He is acclaimed for his work in The Apu Trilogy and introduced the bouncing light technique during the movie Aparajito which is the second part of Apu Trilogy. Mitra became one of the greatest cinematographers of all times. He was known for his attention to obsessive detail as well as one known to terrorize actors, put the fear of god in all film laboratories and bring even the greatest directors to their knees. Though he did not have any experience of handling the camera but his keen knowledge of lighting and observation earned him the position of Director of Photography in Satyajit Ray’s films. Mitra is also the cousin of renowned singer Uma Bose Uma Bose, born on January 22, 1921, fondly called >> Read More... and till his death in 2001 he taught at the Satyajit Ray Film And Television Institute.