Lights, Camera, Action: In conversation with Hetal Dedhia, India’s first female gaffer

Lighting a film set used to be a man’s world in Bollywood. This was until Hetal Dedhia entered the scene. Daughter of renowned gaffer Mulchand Dedhia, Hetal knew what she wanted right from her school days. “Studying was never my forte. I was always good at sports, on the field,” she recalls. “As a kid, I was fascinated by my dad planning shoots over a landline phone, while he drew the lighting designs manually. So when I left school, I went straight for the sets!” says Dedhia, India’s first woman gaffer.

The art of gaffing is crucial to actualise the vision of the cinematographer in film production. The perfect frame can only materialise when the lighting in a scene is ideally set. It is often assumed that due to the bulky equipment required in light design, the profession is tailored for men. But Dedhia thinks this is a misconception. “From very early on, I proved that to learn or know lighting, one does not need to have physical strength. This is a myth,” she says. Dedhia believes that a good eye, the sensibility to understand what a scene requires and the vision of the creatives associated with the film are the only things required to be an able gaffer.

While navigating a male-dominated profession, women often tend to discuss the hurdles they faced because of their gender. But Dedhia claims her journey was without any such roadblocks. However, the job is not without its problems. “There are often expectations of magical lighting when there is no time at hand. On the set, we frequently deal with safety issues, unpredictable weather, equipment quirks and last-minute changes. In general, there can be a lot of collaborative chaos,” she says. Nevertheless, it is a rewarding experience. “You get to meet new people, hear different stories and work with a variety of creatives. The process generates camaraderie amongst the crew members. The best part of the job is that you always learn something new.”

Having worked on films like Bluffmaster (2005), Luck By Chance (2009) and Karthik Calling Karthik (2010), Dedhia is now a well-established figure in the Indian film industry. This recognition has made the navigation of the profession slightly easier for her. Though she never got any special treatment from her father for being a woman gaffer on the set, she did get to assist him on some of his projects. Among these, Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol (2011) has, by far, been the most challenging for her logisitically. When asked if women are discouraged from entering this line of work, Dedhia says she doesn’t think so. “Women don’t like to get their hands dirty. They do embark on this journey, but eventually, they want to turn into DoPs.”

To encourage more women to join light designing, Dedhia believes that strict timings must be maintained during film production. “There should be unions to support the film crew in any production. It’s not just for the issue of gender parity, but to ensure the security of all crew members in general. The industry lacks provisions of insurance on the film sets,” she says. In a job like gaffing, where accidents are a common occurrence, the dearth of health insurance can be a major deterrent for people, who are otherwise interested in the craft. Dedhia firmly believes that such security is crucial to encourage more youngsters to take up light designing as their professional choice.

Though evolving technology and shifting media platforms have changed little for women in the film industry, Dedhia is not disheartened. She feels that women must not be scared to aspire to become gaffers. To those who look up to her for inspiration, Dedhia says, “Pull your socks and let us also prove we can do this!”