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Posted: 24 May 2010 12:21 AM PDT

Let me tell you a story - Some fifteen years back, a young school boy, in the small town of Akola couldn't afford to pay Rs.200 for a photography course. It broke his heart, for all he wanted to learn was photography and not history and geography!

Yet determined, he came to Mumbai… He had no godfather, no money, no education, just a heart filled with dreams and an obsession to find his destiny. The next two years was a drill that would have broken many a strong backs but not our Munna's. He slept on the roads, temple sides, wherever he could find space for the night. The days were long as he alternated between being a milkman, a newspaper boy to floor cleaner at the various studios. Though lady luck remained elusive and he often wondered how he would ever get a chance to hold a camera or shoot those screen gods but his dreams and his smile never left him.

At every given opportunity he was there at the film studios hoping to convince an actor to give him just that one chance and do a photo-shoot with him. A daunting prospect but finally his persistence paid off and voila Arjun Rampal, the hottest new guy in tinsel town said 'Ok, lets shoot tomorrow!' That brought forth a rush to arrange for a camera and Rs 300 for the camera roll. Sleepless and adrenalin rushing he shot his first professional pictures that at once show cased his true potential and had Arjun happily exclaiming 'Good!'

Next came Mayuri Cango- he borrowed money from chai wala, phool walla and all other such friends, organizing in all Rs 5000/- for the photo shoot with her -pics that found their way to leading film publication Stardust in Feb 2000 as a seven page spread! The classic body shots of John Abraham followed…

In less than six years he has shot with almost all the stars in the Bollywood, cover pages of all prestigious magazines in the country, thousands of portfolios, publicity stills for many films, innumerable catalogues and various ad campaigns- the last one being with Salman Khan for Red Tape shoes.. Does it end here?-ask him and he would smile, with that now-famous glint in his eyes and say-"NO! This is just the beginning"!!

Thats Munna S for you, one of the leading photographers of the country. Watch out some of his excellent pics.

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