I’ve known Ilaiyaraaja and Gangai Amaran for a long time. This photograph, featuring the two of them along with their brother Bhaskar, was taken after the release of Annakili. We were looking for some random place to click a picture and finally went to the Marina. This was not our bike. It was standing there and we made the most of it.

Amaran is a fun-loving guy and always full of ideas. For instance, if I suggested a camera angle, he’d come up with many other innovative ones. Ilaiyaraaja only opens up to people he really knows well. And not too many know that he’s interested in photography! He likes nature and landscapes, and has a unique way of looking at things. Many years ago, he gifted me a Nikon camera. Unfortunately, I don’t have it anymore. Bhaskar was a nice person too.

I gave this photo to Ilaiyaraaja along with some of the other photos I took. He was extremely happy. I can proudly say that I am the photographer who has taken the most number of pictures of Ilaiyaraaja. When I praised his photography skills, he’d reply, “I am still a learner.” But I could see he was really good at it.
 

(The photographer has taken stills for more than 500 films over the last three decades.)