Ace Cinematographer, Motorcyclist – Navroze Contractor Passes Away
Reckoned as amongst one of the best cinematographers worldwide, as also one of India’s greatest motorcyclists, 79-year-old Navroze Contractor passed away on the morning of 18th June, 2023, in an unfortunate accident in Bangalore, when he was out riding with his motorcycle group. A dynamic personality, Navroze Contractor was a dedicated family man, alongside being a passionate jazz aficionado, author, raconteur par excellence, and more.
Navroze lost his life to the carelessness of three drunken motorcyclists, riding at high speed on the wrong side of the road. What adds greatly to the irony of his passing was that Navroze was someone who had campaigned assiduously for safe motorcycle and car driving. As per news reports he was also planning to mark his 80th birthday, in a few months, with one last, long bike ride from Bangalore to his favourite city – Ahmedabad.
India’s pioneering motoring journalist since 1977, known to set up numerous car and motorcycle magazines, and author of 15 books, Adil Jal Darukhanawala, and Navroze Contractor’s friend, “Very sad news… one of the greatest motorcycle enthusiasts of India, inveterate motorcycle adventurer, ace motorcycle racing photographer (covered Grand Prix races in the UK and Europe in the late 1960s and early 1970s), an accomplished author and historian, jazz aficionado and expert, social chronicler, humanist and a great friend – Navroze Contractor, who helped judge the motorcycles at the first Goa Vintage and Classic Car and Bike event, passed away doing what he loved best – riding his bike! Hit by an errant biker, coming in hot and wrong, Navroze died on the spot. An active crusader for safe-riding, he was ironically dispatched by that one moron who hadn’t been taught road manners! I am shocked beyond belief and couldn’t have imagined Navroze meeting his Maker in this way! Rest in peace Navroze! You were one in a billion among us bikers and to say you will be missed would be a gross understatement.”
Navroze Contractor was a multiple award-winning cinematographer for a number of feature films (including ‘Duvidha’; ‘22nd June, 1897’; ‘Limited Manuski’; ‘Percy’; ‘Devi Ahilya Bai’; ‘Pahela Adhyay’; ‘Love In The Time Of Malaria’, etc.) and was revered as one of the foremost contributors to the documentary scene worldwide. He also shot ‘Frames’ – India’s first feature film to be shot entirely in HD format. In the documentary arena, his name is legendary films like ‘Ballad Of Pabu’; ‘Dreams Of The Dragon’s Children,’ shot entirely in China; ‘Are You Listening’ by Martha Stewart, and ‘The Last House In Bombay’. His major Indian films include ‘All In The Family’ by Ketan Mehta; ‘What Has Happened To This City’; ‘Something Like A War’; and more recently ‘We Have Not Come Here To Die’ by Deepa Dhanraj. He also directed/photographed ‘Jharu Katha’ – a documentary on brooms.
He had solo exhibitions of his still photographs across Mumbai, Bangalore, USA and Ahmendabad. His photographs of jazz musicians are part of the Smithsonian Museum (Washington DC, USA) collection. His current project on traditional Kushti, was recently shown in Amsterdam, Chennai, Bangalore and Ahmedabad.
He conducted photography and film workshops at FTII – Pune, CEPT University and NID – Ahmedabad, IIM – Bangalore, IIT Hyderabad, SRFTI Kolkata, Pomona State College, California, USA, etc. He even floated an award in 2009, at The Trivandrum International Documentary and Short Film Festival, for ‘Best Cinematography – Short and Long Documentary’. He debuted as an author with ‘The Dreams Of The Dragons Children’ (published by Penguin Books, India) in 2003 – touted a ‘must read’ for every film and travel buff, with a second edition released in 2021.
His love for motorcycles took him riding across Asia, Australia, South Africa, Europe, Thailand, Vietnam, Canada and USA. He initiated a team of three riders, including him, who circumnavigated India on motorcycles in 2005, covering over 18,500 km in 57 days. He regularly contributed for numerous magazines including CAR India / BIKE India, Zigwheels, ‘Wheels Unplugged’ and ‘Fast Bikes’.
