Get to know... Rohit Chawla

The photographer and artist (@ RohitChawlaPhotography_) on his newest exhibition, Havana, why he loves 1970s music, and the genre of books he’d never buy

Get to know... Rohit Chawla

• Currently I am

  Showing my new exhibition, HAVANA, at The Quorum, Gurugram until November 30.

• High point in life

  Walking the red carpet with the Gold Lion for craft at Cannes 2023. It was the perfect full stop to life in advertising.

• Low point in life

  Losing my sister to Covid.

• On my playlist

  Prateek Kuhad, Maria Callas, Swanand Kirkire. I love podcasts by psychoanalyst Adam Phillips; and Empire by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand.

• One thing I would never buy

  A self-help book.

• Best Insta photography tip

  Always be ready to see beauty in this world.

• Last thing I ordered online

  A Muji T-shirt.

• One word that sums up my exhibition

  Frozen.

• My favourite subject in school

  Biology.

• I’d swipe right on

  Dusky women with curly hair.

• My secret skill is

  Managing with less.

• A superpower/magic tool I wish I had

  The ability to suffer influencers.

• My favourite Sunday memory

  The walk with my dogs at sunset on Morjim beach.

• My secret favourite work at the exhibition is

  Love Letter to Che Guevara.

• My most star-struck moment

  Breakfast with Henri Cartier-Bresson at Arles, France in 1991. Coffee with Richard Avedon in New Delhi.

• My favourite bad habit

  Chola bhatura with lassi after any overseas trip.

• If I could travel back or forward in time, I’d…

  Visit the 1970s for the best Hindi music.

• The best thing about fame

  You always have a bunch of people who believe in you, which helps to put things together.

• The worst thing about fame

  The ones closest to you often find it more difficult to witness fame.