The art world mourns the loss of Hirak Sen, a distinguished still photographer who beautifully documented Satyajit Ray’s life and work until his passing at the age of 71
From 1980 until Ray’s death in 1992, Sen remained a constant companion, documenting Ray at work—directing actors, writing, composing music, planning shots and sitting in moments of deep concentration between takes. Priya Cinema owner Arijit Dutta, who organised an exhibition of Sen’s rarely seen photographs of Satyajit Ray in 2007 during screenings of Aranyer Din Ratri, Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne and Pratidwandi to mark Ray’s birth anniversary, said he admired Sen’s use of natural light and his black-and-white frames that captured the quiet intensity of Ray’s filmmaking process.
He was a livewire off the set and loved leg-pulling,” he said. “In the final years, he was afflicted with dementia and the loss of memory was rapid,” Sandip said. “The photographs are still on display at the multiplex in New Town,” Dutta said.
What started as curiosity soon became commitment. Sen followed Ray’s unit for years, watching, waiting and learning the rhythms of a film set. Eventually, he was accepted as an official still photographer. “Others too loved having him at adda sessions. “When I heard the news of his demise, scenes and images of him in this house flashed back. He was always there with us, in good times and bad.