Rafeeq Ellias

Rafeeq Ellias is a Photographer, writer, and publisher. He started his career in 1969 with the McCann Ericsson, where he worked for five years, afterward he joined J. Walter Thompson. In 1975, he moved to Japan where he worked for Ketchum McLeod & Grove for five years; he was having the responsibility of handling the worldwide accounts of Japan Air Lines, Imperial Hotel, Chase Bank, Suntory Whiskey, Sony TVs, among other Japanese and international brands. During his travels to foreign countries, he started clicking photographs of Japan Air Lines as well as TIME Magazine and New York Click to look into! >> Read More... Times travel section.

After returning to India, he with his clients started clicking snaps of Air India and Discover India Magazine to leading fashion brands like Park Avenue, Vimal Sarees, and large multinational companies like Procter and Gamble, Unilever, Bennett Coleman, etc. During his career, he won about 35 national and international awards, including two from the Art Directors Club of New York, Photographer of the Year, and Best Photograph of the Year at the Communications Arts Guild in Mumbai. Several works of Rafeeq have been published by Graphis Press in Switzerland as well as leading art and photography journals in Japan and Europe.

Rafeeq also directed some films. His first short film, which is a 16-minute documentary, was released in 1998. He is the Cinematographer for British Channel Four on the Kumbh Mela in India; the film was shot in the peaks of Himalayas down to Haridwar and Rishikesh on the banks of river Ganga. In 2003, Rafeeq made his landmark film 'The Legend of Fat Mama,' the film is based on the Chinese community residing in Kolkata. The film won two National Awards. The film has been screened at the film festivals in New York, Seattle, Toronto, Manchester, Barcelona and, Oslo. Rafeeq's work is appreciated all over the world. His hard work and passion made him achieve success in his life.