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{{Short description|Indian cinematographer}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2026}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Navroze Contractor
| birth_date = 7 July 1944<ref name="The New Indian Express-2024"/>
| birth_place = [[:en: Wai,_Maharashtra|Wai]], Maharashtra<ref>{{Cite news|title =Navroze Contractor: The cinematographer and motorcyclist dedicated his gift to fight for needy|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/mumbai-news/remembering-navroze-contractor-cinematographer-motorcyclist-jazz-aficionado-raconteur-and-more-101687202600146.html|publisher=Hindustan Times|date = 21 June 2023}}</ref>
|death_date =18 June 2023 (aged 79)<ref name="The News Minute-2023">{{cite web |title=Veteran cinematographer, writer Navroze Contractor passes away in road accident |url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/karnataka/veteran-cinematographer-writer-navroze-contractor-passes-away-road-accident-178670 |website=The News Minute |language=en |date=19 June 2023}}</ref>
|death_place = Bengaluru, India
| image =
| parents =
|spouse = Deepa Dhanraj (wife)<ref name="Raqs Media Collective-2022">{{cite web |title=Navroze Contractor |url=https://works.raqsmediacollective.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/navroze_contractor.pdf |website=Raqs Media Collective|language=en |date=November 2022}}</ref>
| children =
| occupation = [[Filmmaker]], [[cinematographer]], motorbike enthusiast
|years active = Late ’60s to 2023
| alma_mater = [[Film and Television Institute of India|FTII]], Pune<ref name="Gokhale-2023">{{cite web |last1=Gokhale |first1=Shanta |title=Shanta Gokhale: The Navroze Contractor I knew |url=https://scroll.in/reel/1051261/shanta-gokhale-the-navroze-contractor-i-knew |website=Scroll.in |date=21 June 2023}}</ref>
| website = }}

'''Navroze Contractor''' (1944–2023), fondly known as ‘NC’, was an [[Indian people|Indian]] [[filmmaker]], [[cinematographer]], and motorbike enthusiast.<ref name="Vennapusala Ramya-2024">
{{Cite news|title =A dive into the hidden world of Navroze|author=Vennapusala Ramya|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/hyderabad/2024/Dec/04/a-dive-into-the-hidden-world-of-navroze|publisher=The New Indian Express |date = 4 December 2024}}</ref> He was involved in India's [[parallel cinema]] movement and is best known for his work in ''[[Duvidha]]'', ''Devi Ahilya Bai'', ''[[Percy (1989 film)|Percy]]'', ''[[Hun Hunshi Hunshilal]]'', and ''[[Lalach]]''.<ref name="Gokhale-2023"/>He shot more than 50 documentary films, many of them in collaboration with his wife and well-known filmmaker Deepa Dhanraj.<ref name="Raqs Media Collective-2022"/><ref name="Joseph-2023">{{cite web |last1=Joseph |first1=Ammu |title=Navroze Contractor (1944-2023): A life well lived |url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/other/obituary/obituary-navroze-contractor-cinematographer-director-indian-cinema/article67000747.ece |website=Frontline |language=en |date=23 June 2023}}</ref>

He was the only male member of [[Yugantar]], India's first feminist collective founded in 1980 by Deepa, [[Abha Bhaiya]], and Meera Rao.<ref>{{Cite news|title =Collective Action: Navroze Contractor|author=Srikanth Srinivasan| url=https://www.filmcomment.com/blog/collective-action-navroze-contractor-in-memoriam-mani-kaul-duvidha/|publisher=Film Comment|date = 22 April 2024}}</ref>

His photos of jazz musicians are displayed at the [[Smithsonian Museum]]. Certain other photos are part of the collection at London's [[Tate Modern]] art gallery.<ref name="Joseph-2023"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Navroze Contractor Photographs {{!}} Collection: NMAH.AC.0569 |url=https://sova.si.edu/record/NMAH.AC.0569 |website=sova.si.edu}}</ref>

==Early life and career==
''The Family of Man'', a traveling photography exhibition Navroze saw in 1957 in Ahmedabad, was his main influence in becoming a photographer.<ref name="Raqs Media Collective-2022"/><ref name="Adithi Reena Ajith-2025">{{Cite news|title =Raw, unfiltered, human|author=Adithi Reena Ajith|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/delhi/2025/Mar/13/raw-unfiltered-human|publisher=The New Indian Express|date = 13 March 2025}}</ref>

Navroze studied painting and photography at the Faculty of Fine Arts, [[Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda|MS University]], [[Vadodara]], while simultaneously training in additional still photography under Bhupendra Karia. This was in the early to mid-’60s.<ref name="Joseph-2023"/><ref name="The News Minute-2023"/><ref name="Raqs Media Collective-2022"/>

Navroze studied direction and cinematography at the [[Film and Television Institute of India]], [[Pune]], then worked in two feature films and a few documentaries before interning with [[Laszlo Kovacs (cinematographer)|Laszlo Kovacs]] in the US.<ref name="Raqs Media Collective-2022"/><ref name="The News Minute-2023"/><ref name="Joseph-2023"/>He also gained experience in video production at the [[Sony|Sony Corporation]] in [[Japan]].

In the late 1960s, Navroze briefly worked as a still photographer on some [[Ford Foundation]] projects in [[Punjab]]. During this time, he assisted [[Mani Kaul]] in scouting locations for his first film, [[Uski Roti|''Uski Roti'']].<ref name="Vennapusala Ramya-2024"/><ref name="Raqs Media Collective-2022"/>

In 1972, Kaul engaged Navroze to shoot [[Duvidha|''Duvidha'']], the director’s third feature and first color film.<ref name="Raqs Media Collective-2022"/>''Duvidha'' is known for its rich color schemes reminiscent of classical paintings.<ref>{{Cite news|title =Duvidha 1973|url=https://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/cinema/screening/duvidha2|publisher=Qagoma |date = 23 October 2025}}</ref>

Navroze has clicked more than 20,000 still photos over more than six decades, from the 1960s to 2021. These encompass a broad range of subjects (e.g., jazz musicians, ballet artists, wrestlers, laborers, refugees, protesters, ordinary people). The photo collections span several countries: Argentina, China, India, Iran, Mongolia, the Netherlands, and the UK.<ref name="The New Indian Express-2024">{{cite web |title=Celebrating a life through lens & film|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2024/Jul/04/celebrating-a-life-through-lens-film |website=The New Indian Express |language=en |date=4 July 2024}}</ref><ref name="Adithi Reena Ajith-2025"/><ref name="Anjali Jhangiani-2025">{{cite web |title=Exhibition of Navroze Contractor's photographs reveals life spent capturing spontaneity, emotion, and humanity|author=Anjali Jhangiani|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/exhibition-of-navroze-contractors-photographs-reveals-life-spent-capturing-spontaneity-emotion-and-humanity/articleshow/122372942.cms|website=Times of India |language=en |date=11 July 2025}}</ref><ref name="Vennapusala Ramya-2024"/>

Over 160 of these photos were featured in a traveling exhibition titled "Photography Strictly Prohibited," which toured many Indian cities such as Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Gurugram, Hyderabad, and Pune during 2024-2025. The exhibition was curated by Anuj Ambalal (photographer), Himanshu Panchal (photographer/filmmaker), and Sanjiv Shah (filmmaker). All three were close friends and collaborators of Navroze.<ref name="Anjali Jhangiani-2025"/><ref name="Adithi Reena Ajith-2025"/><ref>{{Cite news|title =Remembering Navroze Contractor with Photography Strictly Prohibited|author=Ruth Dhanaraj|url=
https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/art/remembering-navroze-contractor-with-photography-strictly-prohibited/article68356342.ece|publisher=The Hindu|date = 3 July 2024}}</ref>

Apart from [[Mani Kaul|Kaul]], Deepa, and Sanjiv, Navroze has worked with the following filmmakers: Chetan Shah, Georges Luneau, Jayoo Patwardhan and Nachiket, [[Ketan Mehta]], [[Luke Jennings]], Martha Stewart, [[Pattabhi Rama Reddy]], Pervez Merwanji, Pierre Hoffman, and [[Shankar Nag]].<ref name="Yugantar-2025">{{cite web |title=Navroze Contractor |url=https://yugantar.film/members/navroze-contractor/ |website=Yugantar|language=en |date=22 October 2025}}</ref><ref name="Joseph-2023"/>

In 2021, he published his first book ''Dreams of the Dragon's Children'', based on his experiences filming a documentary in China during the mid-1980s. The book is a mix of travelogue, cultural commentary, and film history, offering a vivid portrait of China at a time of rapid transformation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dreams of the Dragon’s Children by Navroze Contractor |url=https://www.walnutpublication.com/book/9781954399631/ |website=Walnut Publication |access-date=7 August 2025}}</ref>

On 18 June 2023, he died in a motorbike accident in [[Bengaluru]].<ref name="The Indian Express-2023">{{cite web |title=Cinematographer Navroze Contractor killed in bike accident in Bengaluru |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/bengaluru-bike-accident-navroze-contractor-killed-8673551/ |website=The Indian Express |language=en |date=20 June 2023}}</ref>

==Personal==
Navroze was married to Deepa, who he met in the 1980s.<ref name="Anjali Jhangiani-2025"/> His family includes his wife and daughters, and they have lived in Bangalore for the past few decades.<ref name="Joseph-2023"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Tribute to photographer-filmmaker Navroze Contractor begins at Bangalore International Centre |author=Arnav Chandrasekhar |url=
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/bangalore/tribute-photographer-filmmaker-navroze-contractor-bangalore-international-centre-9436501/ |website=The Indian Express|language=en |date=6 July 2024}}</ref>

==Filmography==
'''Cinematographer''' - ''feature films''<ref name="The Indian Express-2023"/><ref name="Joseph-2023"/><ref name="The News Minute-2023"/>
*[[Duvidha|''Duvidha'']] (1973)
*[[:en:22_June_1897|''22nd June 1987'']] (1979)
*''Pahela Adhyay'' (1981)
*[[Lalach|''Lalach'']] (1983)
*[[Percy (1989 film)|''Percy'']] (1989)
*[[Hun Hunshi Hunshilal|''Hun, Hunshi, Hunshilal'']] (1992)
*''Juthan Jariwala'' (1993)
*''Devarakadu'' (1993)
*''Limited Manuski'' (1995)
*[[:en:Ahilyabai_Holkar|''Devi Ahilya Bai'']] (2002)
*''Framed'' (2007)

'''Cinematographer''' - ''documentaries''<ref name="Yugantar-2025"/><ref name="Joseph-2023"/>
*''La Ballade de Pabuji'' (1976)
*''Ever Higher'' (1976)
*''Bhavai'' (1977)
*''Jasma Odhan'' (1977)
*''Are You Looking?''
*''Way of the Malabar Warrier'' (1980)
*''Maid Servant'' (1981)
*''Tobacco Embers'' (1982)
*''Tambaku Chaakila Oob Aali'' (1982)
*''Alang'' (1982)
*''Idi Katha Matramena'' (1983)
*''Sudesha'' (1983)
*''Manto-Bombay'' (1985)
*''Bishnois'' (1985)
*''Irulas'' (1986)
*''What has Happened to this City'' (1986)
*''Famine 87'' (1987)
*''The Fishing Boat'' (1987)
*''India's Rajiv'' (1987)
*''Last House in Bombay'' (1990)
*''Girija'' (1990)
*''Something Like a War'' (1991)
*''All in the Family'' (1992)
*''Thaar'' (1993)
*''Abhiyan'' (1993)
*''British Raj Through Indian Eyes'' (1993)
*''Rama's Journey, Ayodhya to Sri Lanka'' (1994)
*''The Legacy of Malthus'' (1994)
*''Disability in Your Eyes'' (1995)
*''The Making of Jaguar'' (1995)
*''Enough of This Silence'' (1996)
*''The Mountains'' (1996)
*''Sewa'' (1997)
*''Offside'' (1998)
*''Clap Trap'' (2000)
*''Hidimba'' (2000)
*''The Family'' (2000)
*''Nari Adalat'' (2001)
*''Amrita Shergil'' (2001)
*''Are You Listening?''
*''Love in the Time of AIDS'' (2006)
*''The Open Frame'' (2011)
*''Invoking Justice'' (2011)
*''We Have Not Come Here to Die'' (2011)
*''Out Loud'' (2015)
*''The Advocate: K.G. Kannabiran'' (2016)
*''Refugee Stories'' (2016)
*''A Place to Live'' (2018)
*''Untitled''
*''Jagori'' (2019)

'''Cinematographer/Director''' - ''documentaries''
*''Bharat Parikrama'' (2005)
*''Jharu Katha/Broom Stories'' (2012)

'''Still photos'''
*More than 20,000
*Some of these are part of the collections at the Smithsonian Museum, London’s Tate Modern, and a traveling exhibition titled "Photography Strictly Prohibited"

'''Books and publications'''
*''The Dreams of the Dragon's Children'', Penguin Books, 2003
*Contributory articles in periodicals like ''CAR India/Bike India'', ''ZigWheels'', ''Overdrive'', ''Wheels Unplugged'', ''Fast Bikes'', and ''Bangalore Mirror''

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Contractor, Navroze}}
[[Category:Indian filmmakers]]
[[Category:Indian documentary filmmakers]]
[[Category:Indian cinematographers]]
[[Category:Indian_experimental_filmmakers]]
[[Category:Film and Television Institute of India alumni]]
[[Category:Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda alumni]]
[[Category: 20th-century Indian photographers]]
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:2023 deaths]]
[[Category:Road incident deaths in India]]
[[Category:Motorcycle road incident deaths]]

Navroze Contractor - Revision history

Tanu14: made new entry