From Ajmer Streets to Film Sets: A Cinematographer's Journey

OutlookIndia

Mohammad Ibrahim works as an assistant cinematographer in Indian films, tracing his roots to a West Bengal fishing village where his grandmother made beedies to survive. His Nani moved the family to Ajmer after hearing about opportunities there, working wedding processions and staying near the dargah.  His mother developed postpartum psychosis after his birth, leading to years of untreated mental illness.  Ibrahim grew up on Ajmer streets, working at juice shops, cycling with saved rupees, and surviving on dargah food. Called "Pagli ka ladka" (mad woman's son), he attended madrasa before joining his mother and grandmother at The Banyan's Chennai facility.  Starting in 4th grade without English knowledge, he progressed through APL Global School, won Cambridge World Topper recognition for mental health artwork, and graduated to pursue film studies at Srishti Institute. He completed internships under cinematographer P.C. Sreeram and now works on feature films and advertisements.  00:00 – 00:07 | The View Outside My Home 00:07 – 00:16 | Blind to Beauty 00:16 – 00:23 | When Life Hits You 00:23 – 00:35 | Remembering Freedom 00:35 – 01:06 | The Ibrahim Days 01:06 – 01:12 | Star Power 01:12 – 01:35 | A Different Kind of Experience 01:35 – 02:05 | Pros, Cons, and Learning  Follow us: Website: https://www.outlookindia.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Outlookindia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outlookindia/ X: https://twitter.com/Outlookindia Whatsapp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaNrF3v0AgWLA6OnJH0R Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OutlookMagazine Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/outlookindia  #IndependenceDay2025 #MentalHealth #MentalHealthAwareness

Transcript

00:00What a must-view at my house?

00:02You know, when I was little,

00:04I never appreciated the view.

00:06I never saw the sunset, bro.

00:08I never sat and saw the sunset.

00:10It's so beautiful.

00:12I never thought, bro.

00:14No food, no drink.

00:16I think that sunset, sunset,

00:18all comes back.

00:20When you feel in life,

00:22after seeing the sunset,

00:24oh, nature,

00:25hawa,

00:26freedom.

00:28Yeah, that'd be good.

00:35We have Ibrahim and Ibrahim's story

00:37where Ibrahim's mother

00:39came to us in shackles.

00:41And from,

00:43you know, her being in shackles

00:44to getting a little better

00:46to going all the way back to Ajmer

00:48and then not having any food to eat

00:50and then coming back

00:52with her mother and with Ibrahim

00:54who was then four.

00:56He is now 23

00:58and he's shot,

01:00he works with PC Shriram,

01:01a cinematographer.

01:02He shot an ad with

01:05Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan.

01:07He has shot another film with Maddie.

01:11But that's not why I value or love him.

01:14I love him because he said

01:16that I will use my lived experience.

01:18The adventurous life childhood I had,

01:20with no control.

01:22Nani never controlled me.

01:24She always told me to go enjoy.

01:27I mean, not enjoy,

01:28but she never, like,

01:29there was no sense of control.

01:31I was always free.

01:32And that freedom,

01:34again, there was both pros and cons to it,

01:36made me understand the world much faster,

01:38see through my own eyes.

01:40But then I was also caught up in the environment,

01:44the behaviors of everybody,

01:46people who are much older than me,

01:48doing something and I would just follow them.

01:51Always grateful for how far I have come.

01:55But this trip really made me understand

01:59where I came from.

02:01It's fun.

02:03Bye.

02:04Next time.

02:05See you next time.

02:06See you next time.

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