India's top fashion photographer Prabuddha Dasgupta, 58, died of a heart attack on Monday while doing a photo shoot in Alibaug, Mumbai.
As one of the finest and most successful photographers in the country, Dasgupta was a recipient of several grants and awards. He is known to have worked with top models including Lakshmi Mennon and Lara Dutta, and did several other outstanding projects.
He has also shot for various international projects and shows. His work was featured in various publications and leading magazines such as Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Marie-Claire, L'Officiel and Femina, with the most distinguished being "Nudi" and "India Now-New Photographic Visions" published in Italy and Paris, respectively.
He was also honored with the Yyes Saint Laurent grant for his photography in 1991.
Besides being a leading photographer, he was also a noted writer, and is credited for publishing two books - "Women" in 1996 and "Lasakh" in the year 2000.
The fearless photographer that he was, Dasgupta broke the stereotypes by incorporating a controversial collection of nude photographs of modern Indian women, who were beautifully captured and aesthetically portrayed in his 1996 book.
Born in Kolkata in 1954, Dasgupta shuttled between Mumbai and New Delhi for assignments. He was perfectionist and is credited for his incredible contribution of the fashion world.
The Twitter sphere mourned the loss and paid its tribute to the noted photographer. Designer Manav Gangwani dedicated his show to Dasgupta at the ongoing Delhi Couture Week.
Here are a few tweets from Bollywood celebrities and people from the fashion fraternity:
Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal tweeted, "Devastated, Prabhudo Dasgupta, a genius and dear friend is no more, he has gone way before his time. My prayers & strength for his family. RIP."
Lara Dutta wrote, "I hear from twitter that Prabuddho Dasgupta has passed away!:-( . He shot me 4 the Femina cover rght after I won Miss India. It was every...Womans dream to be shot by Prabuddho! No one captured a woman like him. May his soul rest in peace. :-("
Actress Dia Mirza tweeted, "Prabudha Das Gupta...the wonder you created will live on but I will miss looking at you and then the 'self' that only you could capture. RIP."
Model Padma Lakshmi tweeted, "RIP Prabuddha Dasgupta. Huge loss. Lucky to work with such a master, artist & friend. So sad for Lakshmi & his girls."
"Yesterday i passed brilliant photographer #PrabhudaDasgupta studio in Bengaluru promising 2 drop by next time.Today he passed away," said Shekar Kapoor.
Actor-director Farhan Akhtar wrote, "One of the finest photographers and a dear friend, Prabhuda, passed away. RIP. This has been a dark week."
Lisa Ray tweeted, "Shocked at the news of Prabuddha Das Gupta's passing. A true artist, original and friend. Saddened. My heart is with Lakshmi and his girls."
"In memory of Prabuddha Dasgupta, beautiful moments captured for Vama Campaign! Lucky me to be photographed by a LEGEND," model Ujjwala Raut tweeted along with a picture of Prabuddha.
