Priya Seth

Not to be confused with Priya Sethi.
This article is about a cinematographer. For Dushyant Sharma murder accused, see Murder of Dushyant Sharma.

Priya Seth
Born1975
Amritsar, Punjab, India
NationalityIndian
EducationWelham Girls' School
St. Xavier's College, Mumbai
New York University Tisch School of the Arts
OccupationCinematographer
Years active1996–present
Organization(s)International Collective of Female Cinematographers
Western India Cinematographers'Association
Indian Women Cinematographers' Collective
Known forAirlift, Chef, Barah Aana
RelativesDevika Bulchandani
Websitepriyaseth.com

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
2016 Airlift Raja Krishna Menon
2017 Chef Raja Krishna Menon
2023 Pippa Raja Krishna Menon
2023 Matka Karuna Kumar

Web series

Year Title Language Notes
2018 Karenjit Kaur – The Untold Story of Sunny Leone English Season 2, released on ZEE5

References

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