Roll past silver

The first Parsi lady in Bombay to pursue video shooting as a profession, Armaity Rashid Bamanbehram is celebrating her silver jubilee in her chosen career. She is popular not only among the Parsis but also Punjabis, Gujaratis, Maharashtrians, Hindus and Christians, notes a press release. During her 25 years in the profession, in certain families she has covered the couple’s wedding, subsequently the first birthdays of their children, and later the navjotes and weddings of the children too. Among her prestigious clients are the families of Justice Bakhtavar Lentin, Dr Rustom Soonawalla, and celebrities like Nirupa Roy and Pankaj Udhas, adds the write-up.

"For my success I would give full credit to my husband Rashid who has supported me all the way. He is my mentor and guide in everything I do,” acknowledges Armaity. After her marriage to Rashid, an established press photographer in 1977, Armaity used to help her husband by printing black and white photographs. When Rashid started shooting Super-8 mm movies for weddings and navjotes, she would hold aloft the lights for him and later learnt how to shoot Super-8 mm movies herself. Her career as a videographer commenced in 1981 with her first assignment being a navjote ceremony at the Dadysett Agiary. With her good grasp and steady hand as also an eye for detail she single-handedly manages the video camera from the commencement to the end of the function while Rashid takes still life photographs.

From left: Nazneen, Maneck, Rashid, Armaity and Adil Bamanbehram

"We have to work hard as we have no monthly salary. This is our profession and not a side business,” mentions Armaity, referring to the cooperation of her "very supportive” children who never took advantage of her irregular working hours during their school days. Now eldest son Adil is a web designer and into programming too, daughter Nazneen is a teacher but has been helping her parents shoot events with her interest in photography, and youngest son Maneck is in the banking field and a stage artist.

Every two years the couple change their equipment realizing the need to give their clients the best output. Not surprisingly the lady has orders for functions that are scheduled for 2010, according to a write-up in the Afternoon Despatch and Courier of August 16, 2006.