Priya Seth Explained

Priya Seth should not be confused with Priya Sethi.

Priya Seth
Birth Date:1975
Birth Place:Amritsar, Punjab, India
Nationality:Indian
Education:Welham Girls' School
St. Xavier's College, Mumbai
New York University Tisch School of the Arts
Occupation:Cinematographer
Known For:Airlift, Chef, Barah Aana
Years Active:1996–present
Organization:International Collective of Female Cinematographers
Western India Cinematographers'Association
Indian Women Cinematographers' Collective
Relations:Devika Bulchandani

Priya Seth (born 1975) is an Indian cinematographer, best known for her work in Indian feature films, advertisements, and underwater filming and photography.[1] [2] She is among a handful of women cinematographers currently working in the Indian mainstream cinema.[3] [4] [5]

Early life

Seth was born in Amritsar, India and was educated at Cathedral and John Connon School and Welham Girls' School, a boarding school in Dehradun.[6] After school, she pursued a degree in economics at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, and then later went on a six-month film-making course at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts.[6]

Career

Early career

After graduating, Seth got her first job as a clapper and assistant cameraman on Deepa Mehta's 1998 film Earth, followed by Jane Campion's Holy Smoke!, which was partially filmed in India in 1999.[7]

After that, she worked on diverse projects such as music videos and commercials for FMCG brands, before returning to the cinema industry.[8] Seth is a trained scuba diver and is known for her expertise in her underwater filming and photography.[9] She has been the underwater DOP for Bollywood films like Dhobi Ghat and Mardaani 2.[10]

Feature films

Seth's first solo feature film project was the indie Barah Aana, directed by Raja Krishna Menon and starring Naseeruddin Shah. She reunited with Menon on his 2016 historical drama film Airlift, starring Akshay Kumar and Nimrat Kaur. The film was noted for its bold, raw, and tense camerawork depicting the real events on which the film was based.[4] [11] [12] She then worked on the Saif Ali Khan starring Chef, an official remake of the 2014 Hollywood film.[13] In 2018, Seth shot the Season 2 of Zee5 web series Karenjit Kaur – The Untold Story of Sunny Leone, a show based on the life of former porn star-turned-actor Sunny Leone.

In 2017, Seth became the founding member of the Indian Women Cinematographer's Collective (IWCC), along with cinematographers Fowzia Fathima and Savita Singh.[14]

Filmography

Feature films

Year Title Director
2009 Barah Aana Raja Krishna Menon
2016Airlift Raja Krishna Menon
2017Chef Raja Krishna Menon
2023PippaRaja Krishna Menon
2023MatkaKaruna Kumar

Web series

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Gopalakrishnan . Aswathy . 'There Is No Handwriting Of Mine That Goes Over All My Work': Interview With 'Chef' Cinematographer Priya Seth – . Silverscreen.in . 2017-10-08 . 2020-03-29.
  2. Web site: 'We are image makers at the end of the day' . The Hindu . 2016-03-07 . 2020-03-29.
  3. Web site: Uday Bhatia . Women cinematographers: Through a more equal lens . Livemint.com . 24 March 2017. 2020-03-29.
  4. Web site: Lata Jha . Priya Seth's camera work stands out in 'Airlift' . Livemint.com . 28 January 2016. 2020-03-29.
  5. Web site: 100 years of ARRI - Interactive Timeline and Interviews . 100.arri.com . 2020-03-29.
  6. Web site: Nandini Ramnath . Women cinematographers on how the mainstream ignores them: 'On the periphery' . 2019-12-09 . 2020-03-29.
  7. Web site: Film Companion . 6 Women On Their First Break In Films . 2019-12-09 . 2020-03-29.
  8. Web site: Five Female Bollywood Cinematographers We Should Know. shethepeople.tv. 3 October 2018 . 2020-12-20.
  9. News: All set for take one . The Hindu . 12 March 2015. 2020-03-29.
  10. Web site: Priya Seth on life and underwater cinematography – Part II. digitalstudioindia.com. Anisha. Gakhar. 7 May 2019. 2022-06-16.
  11. Web site: Why this reviewer's comment on Airlift's cinematographer is sexist . The News Minute . 2016-01-24 . 2020-03-29.
  12. Web site: There's No Film a Man Can Shoot & I Can't: Airlift DOP Priya Seth. thequint.com. 11 February 2016 . 2020-12-20.
  13. Web site: span.state.gov/achievers/priya-seth/20180303. span.state.gov. 2020-12-20.
  14. Web site: Lights, Camera, Action: Indian female cinematographers come together to form a collective - Lifestyle News . Indiatoday.in . 2017-03-09 . 2020-03-29.