Gautam Rajadhyaksha was planning to direct: Shabana (Interview)

Mumbai, Sep 14 Actress Shabana Azmi, whose best photographs were taken by the late Gautam Rajadhyaksha, has revealed that he has left a script with her of a movie he was planning to direct.

'I am deeply shaken. How random and bizarre it all is and how slender the thread with which we hang on to life. I can't stop crying. My best photos have been taken by Gautam. He just left a script for me to read which he was planning to direct,' Shabana Azmi, told IANS in an email interview.

Rajadhyaksha passed away Tuesday following a massive heart attack. He was 61.

One of the most sought after glamour photographers in the film industry, he had worked on portraits of almost all the leading stars. Apart from that, he was also associated with films like 'Hum Saath Saath Hain', 'Hu Tu Tu', 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' and 'Hum Aapke Hain Kaun' as special still photographer.

His film connection was not restricted to just photography, Rajadhyaksha had written the stories of films like 'Bekhudi' (1992), 'Anjaam' (1994) and 'Sakhi' (2007).

Shabana was among the first few film celebrities with whom Rajadhyaksha started his photography career in the 1980s.

Shabana says Rajadhyaksha's photography was so immaculate and his stature so high that if he ever worked with newcomers, they used to start considering themselves famous.

'He had not a mean bone in his body and was loved by all those he photographed so beautifully. Newcomers would feel they have arrived if Gautam Rajadhyaksha photographed them. He brought sophistication to the film stars' portrait,' said Shabana, who studied with him in St. Xavier's College, Mumbai.

'He will live on in our memory and through his work,' she said.