Cinematographer Peter Pereira who passed away on 10 January created magic on screen from behind the screen. He shot six of Manmohan Desai’s biggest blockbusters beginning with Sachcha Jhutha in 1970, followed by Aa Gale Lag Jaa, Amar Akbar Anthony , Desh Premee, Coolie, Mard .
Manmohan Desai considered Peter to be indispensable to his cinema. “Amitabh, Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Peter are the three kingpins of my cinema. I would be lost without them.”
Peter’s piece de resistance was Shekhar Kapoor’s Mr India in which Peter not only did the cinematography but also the special effects.
Shekhar recalls Peter: “He was a gentle genius. Patient. Always innovative. Constantly coming up with solutions. Mr India still stands tall as a spectacular visual effects film. And that too from long before we had sophisticated digital visual effects .Remember the scene where the kid and Mr India first discover the invisibility bracelet ?That scene required three passes of the film negative in the same frame ! It was the most patient and careful work I’ve ever seen on camera.”
