Peter Pereira is an Indian cinematographer, special effects creator and director known for providing special effects for Bollywood films. He rose to fame in 1987 by creating special effects that made Arun Verma, a character played by Anil Kapoor in the hit Bollywood film Mr. India, disappear. He breathed his last on January 10, 2023, at his residence in Juhu, Mumbai.
Wiki/Biography
Peter Pereira was born in 1929 in Uttan, Thane District, Maharashtra, India (age 93; time of death). He grew up in his hometown Vasai in Palghar district of Maharashtra.
family
Parents and siblings
Peter’s father was a film distributor who worked for MB Billimoria, a well-known film distribution company, in the 1940s. There is not much information about his mother or siblings.
wife
There is not much information about his marital status.
other relatives
Peter has two nephews, Ranget Pereira and Carlton DeMello.
religion
Peter Pereira followed Christianity.
Profession
In 1970, in his early 40s, Peter moved to Juhu to gain more professional opportunities in film photography. He started his career as an apprentice at Basant Studio in Chembur, owned by Indian film director and producer Homi Wadia. There he does some day-to-day tasks like setting up cameras and other common tasks. Peter had a keen interest in photography, and he assisted special effects expert Babubhai Mistry, a stunt photographer at Basant Studios, in mastering cinematographic techniques. While assisting Babubhai Mistry, Peter’s salary was Rs. 50 per month.
Movie
as a cinematographer
In 1963, Peter made his debut as a cinematographer with the Bollywood film Parasmani.
As a cinematographer, he worked with Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan on Bollywood films such as “Yaarana” (1981), “Coolie” (1983), “Mard” ( 1985), Shahenshah (1988), Toofan (1989) and Lal Baadshah (1999). Apart from this, some of his famous Bollywood movies include Baseraa (1981), Dil Aashna Hai (1992), Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996) and Pyaar Diwana Hota Hai (2002). Peter’s last film as a cinematographer was Bhaggmati (2005).
As a special effects creator
In 1970, Peter made his debut as a special effects creator with the Bollywood film “Sachaa Jhutha”.
Apart from this, Peter also worked as a special effects coordinator for several Bollywood films like Roti (1974), Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Prem Rog (1982), Sheshnaag (1990) and Ajooba (1991).
die
Peter Perera died at his residence in Juhu on January 10, 2023 and on the same day he was buried at Our Lady of Grace Cathedral Padi, Vasai, Maharashtra.
Facts/Trivia
- Peter said in an interview that he likes comedy movies and is deeply influenced by Charlie Chaplin and his movies.
- In the interview, Peter discussed his motivations for getting into the film industry, revealing that he was inspired by the film after watching Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr. play Mario and Lucien Franchi. After his dual role in the film The Corsican Brothers (1941), he finally decided to make Bollywood films.
- Peter became interested in photography at an early age, as his father was fascinated by it. In an interview, Peter discussed how his interest in cinematography developed during his apprenticeship at Basant Studio, saying:
My father is a photography enthusiast. I shared his hobby and loved photography from the beginning, throughout my youth. I have a little brownie camera and I take a lot of photos. When I was an apprentice at Basant Studios, I was also drawn to cinema within the whole filmmaking environment. ”
- Peter worked in the camera and electrical departments of several Bollywood films such as New Delhi (1956), Train (1970), Balam Veer (1977) and Border (1997).
- In an interview, when asked about his experience working on special effects in the Bollywood film Mr India, Peter replied:
What a beautiful movie. Shekhar Kapoor would tell me what he wanted and I would do it. It’s simple and straightforward – I work every day or I have to be there all the time. I was not the cinematographer of the film, that was Baba Azmi. On set, I didn’t work closely with the camera department unless I wanted to make some changes. There was a scene where I was taking a picture and Baba Azmi came up to me and started asking me if I was sure about the lighting. I asked him to get me an egg and I would light it 25 different ways. “
- While creating special effects for the Bollywood film Mr India (1987), Peter used classic masking techniques to capture the appearance and disappearance of characters, and stop-motion animation techniques to capture the character’s footprints.
- Peter made a cameo appearance in the Bollywood film Amar Akbar Antony (1977), starring Vinod Khanna. Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor.
- In the early 2000s, Peter became blind due to glaucoma, a progressive eye disease that damages the optic nerve, eventually leading to vision loss and even blindness.
- In 2022, Peter appeared in the documentary Chhayaankan, directed by Hemant Chaturvedi, which highlighted the contribution of 14 cinematographers to the Hindi film industry from the 1950s to the 2000s.
- During his last days, Peter was cared for by a nurse in his apartment in Juhu, arranged by his nephew in the United States.
- Indian actor Abhishek Bachchan shared the news of Peter’s death on Twitter and recalled his fond memories, writing:
Today, our industry lost a legend. #peterpereira A pioneer in our cinematography. One of the greatest! I visited my father’s movie sets as a child and I have vivid memories of him. Kind, loving, dignified, talented. Rest in peace sir.
— Abhishek 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧 (@juniorbachchan) January 10, 2023
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education