Why the film roll is making a quiet resurgence

Zhenwei, a film processing lab in Mumbai, is attracting a growing number of analogue photographers looking to capture the physicality of film. The lab, founded in 2020 by Aditya Tawate and Yash Yeri, now processes around 300 film rolls from 90 photographers every month. The duo converted the two bedrooms of a flat in Dombivli East into a darkroom and office, equipped with black curtains, manual tanks, a rotary processor and two enlargers for making silver gelatin prints. "Even Polaroids are making a comeback", says a regular client, while Yeri adds: "The hype right now is so much that even a company like Kodak has run out of film stock".

Strap: By choosing Kodak, a few Mumbai photographers are bringing the sexy back

Mumbai, India - April 4, 2023: Aditya Tawate and Yash Yeri of Zhenwei Film Lab, pose for the photos, at Dombivali, in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, April 04, 2023. (Photo by Satish Bate/Hindustan Times) (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

Mumbai: When you are a budding photographer, even toilets contain an air of beauty. Three years apart, between 2020 and 2022, photographer Aditya Tawate shot two privies. The first one is lit by a single red bulb, which turns the mise en scène into a blurry crime scene. The second one is in a gentlemen’s loo. The baby-blue tiles are visible only through a shaft of light. The white urinals are shrouded in black shadows. From relying on an LED to capturing the choreography of natural light, one can witness the birth of a photographer. Someone who learns how to see before he learns to click.

For analogue photographers, this used to be a prerequisite: looking before leaping. For a few digital photographers today, this has become a choice.

On the other hand, Tawate handled film for the first time, while he was pursuing his master’s degree in photography from National Institute of Design. With a Nikon F3, he had gone on a heritage walk in Ahmedabad. “I did not know anything about metering,” he says. “But, there was a mentor who was guiding us. It’s still the best black-and-white film I’ve ever shot.” Yeri interjects wryly, “His entry into film photography was a lot more artistic and educational than mine.”

Nokia to Nikon

Both in their late twenties, both professional photographers, both Dombivli kids, Yeri and Tawate bonded in 2020, in their shared love of the medium. “We were just experimenting and learning about film at the same time,” says Yeri. “After a while, we understood how to make it commercial and accessible for the people who are interested in it.” Today, they receive about 300 film rolls for processing, from close to 90 photographers every month. Seventy-five of these, they say, are new clients.

Two Sundays ago, Mumbai photographer Hashim Badani had conducted a film photo-walk in Byculla, in partnership with Subko Coffee. The 10 participants were a mix of young students and old hands. “There was one gentleman who had shot on film all his life, who had to stop because it was just hard to get film and develop it,” says Badani. “Now that it has come back into vogue, he has picked up his film camera again.”

As one of Zhenwei’s regular clients, 26-year-old photographer Soham Punde, says, “The younger generation is attracted to the colours we get after developing. People like that vibe. Even Polaroids are making a comeback for the same reason.” Yeri says, “The hype right now is so much that even a company like Kodak has run out of film stock.”

From screen to viewfinder

Holding a Kodak contact sheet today is like travelling back to the ’90s, to a time of Ajanta toothbrushes and Action shoes. Maybe, nostalgia is also an inheritance. “Even as a digital photographer, I don’t shoot a lot,” says Yeri. “What I love about film is that no one actually comes in between and asks, ‘What are you shooting?’ If I eliminate the scanning part, there isn’t any digital component. There is only the physicality of the film, which I truly love. The first time I saw a fibre-based print, it was so lovely to look at. I could see the whole depth through a viewfinder. Even on a 4K screen, I’ve never felt that way. So, film goes well with my process.”

Punde says, “On digital, the images are too sharp. You can see them on the spot and improvise immediately. But, in film photography, you need to be very alert. You only have 36 exposures on a roll. So, you become choosy. You need to keep looking through the viewfinder, and keep adjusting the frame, the light, the metering.”

Badani, who has used film in the ’90s, returned to the medium four years ago. He says, “Film is slightly more therapeutic. It allows you to understand your surroundings. It allows an inward journey, in which there’s a lot more to gain about how you’re thinking of an image. With social media, you’re overburdened by visuals. It’s so easy to make images now that you don’t get a chance to reflect on what you’re doing. As with all things analogue, it slows down the process. You have to show restraint on film, you have to think about what would make a better photo and choose your moments. It allows you to look at your practice in a different way.”

In 2020, Yeri had shot actor Kalki Koechlin, who was with child, on film. In one of the black-and-white stills, she’s sitting on the pot, a toilet roll trailing down like a scroll, holding a book on Chanel, wearing a gathered, dishevelled dress. The image crosses a tramp with haute couture. It might not have looked too different if shot on digital, but it sure does look stunning when shot on film.

Pull quote

‘On digital, the images are too sharp. You can see them on the spot and improvise immediately. But, in film photography, you need to be very alert. You only have 36 exposures on a roll. So, you become choosy.’

Soham Punde, photographer

Caption:

Photographers Aditya Tawate and Yash Yeri at Zhenwei Film Lab in Dombivli East. The duo came together when Tawate was back from hostel during the lockdown “and was just craving to work in a darkroom”.

Satish Bate/HT Photo