Artist Atul Dodiya: I got to read faces closely in packed local coaches

Introducing a series on Mumbai’s trailblazers who dip into memory to share what anchors them in a changing city

MUMBAI: An unnamed hill which can be seen beyond a network of high rises from artist Atul Dodiya’s spacious seventh floor studio in Ghatkopar, it is believed, formed the backdrop of Raja Ravi Varma’s ‘Shakuntala’. The hill at that time was not covered with slum colonies as it is now. Dodiya, 66, grew up in this north-eastern suburb of Mumbai at a time when he and his friends would play hide-and-seek criss-crossing its east and west. It is in a

Mumbai, India - July 05, 2025: Atul Dodiya Indian artist pose for the photos at his ghatkopar studio in Mumbai, India, on Saturday, July 05, 2025. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)