“My Father, My GURU--- He was not just my Teacher of Photography, but also a Teacher of Life ! ” By Chaitanya Padukone

“Consider myself incredibly privileged to have had a Guru and a Father (Pradeep Bandekar-jee) in the same person.

 My Father taught me the intricacies and the pace of the industry and photography, always by my side during my shoots. I was fortunate to have him around, witnessing my growth and imparting invaluable lessons. He taught me that no actor is ever truly your friend! Yet you must always respect them because our livelihood depends on them. He instilled in me the importance of never disrespecting anyone on shooting sets, no matter how angry or upset I might be.

My Father was a legendary figure, someone, almost everyone in the industry sought guidance from. From my childhood, I saw him as a hard-working and dedicated man. He was always busy, and being a ‘filmy’ person, he wasn’t a conventional father—you wouldn’t find him attending my Parent-Teacher meetings or worrying about my academic education.

But when it came to my extracurricular activities, he was always there. No matter how late he returned from a shoot, he would still wake up early to take me for swimming sessions.. I remember seeing him napping on a bench while I swam. As a child, I didn’t fully grasp the extent and intensity of his sincere dedication. But as I started working, I steadily understood the passion and commitment required to ‘achieve’ what he did.

Recently, while going through his old archives body of photography work, I realized just how phenomenal it was. His photographs captured the essence of the old film industry like no one else could. He could spend hours reminiscing about the good times on set, often entertaining us with stories from the films we watched together during lockdown. We spent many days watching old classics—mostly Vinod Khanna, Prakash Mehra, and Salim-Javed films. He always had fascinating trivia to share about the songs, locations, and actors. There was always so much to learn and imbibe from him.

Now that he’s gone, I feel an overwhelming sense of emptiness. My achievements feel incomplete because he is no longer here to see them. One of my fondest memories is waking up in the morning and seeing him scan the news-papers, looking for my credit by-line name and the photos I had shot the day before. He was not just a Teacher of Photography but also a Teacher of Life. As the days go by, the sense of  huge loss only deepens further But I hope he continues to guide us from up above.”.

( as told by Prtthamesh --exclusively to senior film journalist Chaitanya  Padukone )