Josef Wirsching
For instance, in this frame there is a hint of a chandelier above and a very large candle below.
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Personal details
Born: March 22, 1903 in Munich (Germany)
Died: June 11, 1967 in Bombay
His films...
For another detail-rich composition from Pakeezah that was at least two decades ahead of its time in India, see Binaca Geet Mala 1972: greatest hits
Wirsching's photography
...in India
At the top left corner there is a hint of the leaves of a tree. Some of these branches got trimmed off in the transition from celluloid CinemaScope to home video.
Minutiae such as those leaves were among Wirsching’s hallmarks. He would ensure that there were little details in the corners as well.
And then there is the overall composition of this frame in which the minarets of a mosque or shrine are bracketed by scraggy old trees.
Incidentally, in the right half of the frame some tiny human figures can be seen. Left to right, these are the actor Meena Kumari (in a black burqa), followed by Raaj Kumar (in white) and then a group of people including clerics who have just emerged from the shrine in the background.
Sonam Joshi, How a German came to shoot Hindi classics, December 14, 2017: The Times of India
From: Sonam Joshi, How a German came to shoot Hindi classics, December 14, 2017: The Times of India
From: Sonam Joshi, How a German came to shoot Hindi classics, December 14, 2017: The Times of India
A photo exhibition of Josef Wirsching’s work sheds light on the cosmopolitan world of early Indian cinema
A candid black-and-white picture from 1937 shows the era’s top film star Devika Rani smoking during a shoot. In another, Rani, her filmmakerhusband Himansu Rai and a young Ashok Kumar share a meal under a thatched hut, while a third photo features actor Raaj Kumar in the middle of a scene in Pakeezah, surrounded by a swarm of cameras and crew.
The common thread linking all these rare images is Josef Wirsching, a German cinematographer who was behind the camera for many iconic films until the 1960s. They form part of a new exhibition of 158-odd photographs sourced from Wirsching’s archive.
Wirsching’s tryst with India began in 1925, when he, along with three other Germans — film director Franz Osten and two technicians — set sail from Italy to work in Bombay on an ambitious silent film on the life of Gautama Buddha. Called The Light of Asia or Prem Sanyas, the Indo-German production was the brainchild of Rai, a lawyer-turned-actor who had travelled to Germany to collaborate with the film studio Emelka.
The film’s success led to two more Indo-German films, the recently restored Shiraz and Prapancha Pash. In 1935, when Rai and Devika Rani set up Bombay Talkies, they invited Wirsching and Osten to join them and provide technical expertise, helping train Indians in film production. Wirsching became the studio’s director of photography, and went on to shoot classics such as Achhut Kanya, Jawani Ki Hawa, Mahal, Sangram and Pakeezah. He also took photographs.
Now, 50 years after his death in 1967, Wirsching’s photographs are being exhibited for the first time as part of the Serendipity Arts Festival in Goa. Titled ‘A Cinematic Imagination’, the exhibition includes film and production stills and behind-the-scene photos from 1925to1967, spanning Wirsching’s years with Bombay Talkies and later with Kamal Amrohi.
The German joined Bombay Talkies at a crucial juncture in the mid-1930s, when Indian cinema was making the transition from silent films to the talkies. Film scholar Debashree Mukherjee, who has co-curated the exhibition with Rahaab Allana of the Alkazi Foundation, says, “The cosmopolitan crew at BombayTalkies brought together multiple influences ranging from German Expressionist theatre and cinema to modern Bengali reformist novels and Hindustani classical music. It played a foundational role in defining India’s commercial film form, producing some of the most iconic musical films of the era which foregrounded urgent issues of social reform.” Allana adds that this was a wider trend, with other European filmmakers and photographers also working in India at the time.
Wirsching’s career was interrupted by World War II. As a German living in a British colony, he was arrested and sent to an internment camp from 1939 to 1947. “My grandfather always believed he would go backtoGermany after he retired from working in India,” says Georg, who archived the material. “He would send back negatives, photographs, curios and even furniture to his parents in Munich. However, WWII happened and all of that was destroyed along with Josef’s hope of ever going back to his old family home.” Instead, he decided to resume work in Bombay. After the closure of Bombay Talkies, Wirsching joined Kamal Amrohi’s Mahal Films. His last film was the Meena Kumari-starrer Pakeezah, released five years after his death.
Yet, his influence extended beyond his own work and can be seen in films such as Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa. “Wirsching’s key contribution to Indian cinema lies in his use of light and composition. He brings an artistic imagination that infused Bombay cinema with the psychological depth and stylistic ethos of German Expressionism, which used sets, costumes and lighting to exteriorize inner emotions,” Mukherjee says. The project has been self-funded so far, but the Wirschings plan to raise more money to take the exhibition to other cities and compile the photographs into a book.
The Kashmir connection
BOLLYWOOD’S CINEMATOGRAPHER JOSEF WIRSCHING ( 1903-1967 ) AND KASHMIR …
By (Avtar Mota
Not many people know that Bollywood had many full time resident foreign cinematographers and directors. One stalwart among them being Josef Wirsching, a German national from Munich . Sometime around 1925,he was directed by his German studio owners to move to India and help Himanshu Rai to shoot his silent film 'LIGHT OF ASIA' . Wirsching shot the film on locations and accordingly moved to many places in India .' Light of Asia ( a classic silent film on the life of Buddha ) proved a grand success in Europe. It was directed by Franz Often ,another film maker / director from Munich , Germany. .Osten worked for Hindi cinema even during silent era.
When Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani set up Bombay Talkies, they invited Wirsching and Osten to join them and provide technical expertise in film production.
During his first visit, Wirsching instantly fell in love with India and felt as if he had returned to a place that suited the needs of his soul. After going back to Germany , he again returned to India and travelled in many direction .And Himanshu Rai was more than satisfied with his work.
When Himanshu Rai started BOMBAY TALKIES , Wirsching was inducted as cinematographer . Soon he became a much sought after person in films.He worked with many well known producers and was known as an expert for outdoor locations. After a visit to kashmir , Wirsching fell in love with its scenic beauty. He would suggest Kashmir as location to many producers .To the younger generation of cinematographers , he would guide as to how they should capture colours and seasons of Kashmir apart from its hills , lakes , poplars and streams .
At Wirsching’s insistence S.A. Baqar ( producer ) shot some sequences for his movie DIL APNA AUR PREET PARAAYI in Kashmir . And Wirsching played his cinematographic magic for this movie as well.The film proved instant hit.
I believe that the story of camera techniques in India is a story of Josef
Wirsching .Uninfluenced by Hollywood, this man alone brought the German Expressionism to Indian films . Bombay cinema from the 1930s to the 1950s reveals a strong influence of German Expressionism and Josef Wirsching played a pioneering role in popularising this stylised film form. The Expressionist vocabulary is strongly imprinted in Wirsching’s lighting designs and compositions.He stands out tallest among the pioneers of this art.Equally comfortable with colour cinematography .Wirsching was a master in using shadow and light technique during black and white era of Indian cinema.This technique he taught to a generation of cinematographers .
During his professional career , Josef Wirsching relied upon and abundantly used ‘Arriflex’ cameras. These cameras , he recommended to new generation of cinematigraphers also.
Wirsching was a great friend of Kamal Amrohi . Kamal Amrohi had engaged him as cinematographer for his blockbuster ' MAHAL' .It may not be out of place to mention that Wirsching also played his magic for kamal Amrohi’s magnum opus PAKEEZAH even though he did not live to finish the shoot and died on June 11, 1967, a fortnight after he lost his wife to cancer..He was a strict family man who loved to travel and explore India after completing his assignments .Wirsching's home in Germany was completely destroyed during bombings of World war II and he lost his entire precious photographic equipments and archival records.
Filmography
As a Cinematographer
1925 Prem Sanyas
1926 Die kleine Inge und ihre drei Väter (German)
1926 Unsere Emden (German)
1927 Mein Heidelberg, ich kann Dich nicht vergessen (German)
1929 Waterloo (German)
1932 Kreuzer Emden (German)
1933 Das verliebte Hotel (German)
1934 Shock Troop (German)
1935 Jawani Ki Hawa
1936 Achhut Kanya
1936 Janmabhoomi
1936 Jeevan Naya
1937 Jeevan Prabhat
1937 Savitri
1939 Durga
1939 Kangan
1939 Navjeevan
1949 Mahal
1950 Sangram
1960 Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai
1972 Pakeezah
