Farhat Basir Khan is an Indian photographer. He has made contributions to photography and

media studies Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but it mos ...

in India, both as an academic as well as an industry professional. Khan has also served as the Professor of Media & Communication at the AJK Mass Communication and Research Centre where he officiates as the director of the centre in absence of the director He uses

media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

formats like walk in

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms, such as Text (literary theory), writing, Sound, audio, images, animations, or video, into a single presentation. T ...

installation for

symposium In Ancient Greece, the symposium (, ''sympósion'', from συμπίνειν, ''sympínein'', 'to drink together') was the part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was accompanied by music, dancing, recitals, o ...

. He has served as a member of many previous juries such as International CMS Vatavaran Film Festival, Delhi; Fuji Film Super Six, Film Photography and Animation Festivals at

IIT Kanpur The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT- Kanpur or IIT-K) is a public institute of technology located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. As an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), it was declared an Institute of National Importance by th ...

and

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

; and for the last several years at the International Broadcast Convention for Content Creation, Management & Delivery in

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, Amsterdam. Khan produced the fifty-year commemorative audio-visual for

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

India as well as

WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...

SEAR. and contributes regularly to several

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

, print and web media.

Academic career

Khan joined the AJK, Mass Communication Research Centre, where he heads the Photography,

Multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms, such as Text (literary theory), writing, Sound, audio, images, animations, or video, into a single presentation. T ...

Audiovisual Audiovisual (AV) is electronic media possessing both a sound and a visual component, such as slide-tape presentations, films, television programs, corporate conferencing, church services, and live theater productions. Audiovisual service provide ...

sections and holds the Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad Chair.

Contribution to Cinema, Media and Academics

During his career as an academic he has taught

Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as the "Padishah, Baadshah of Bollywood" and "King Khan", he has Shah Rukh K ...

Roshan Abbas Roshan Abbas is an Indian media professional. Career Abbas studied at Hindu College, University of Delhi, graduating with a BA degree in 1992, and completed Mass Communication from AJK Mass communication Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi. ...

, Barkha Dutt, Kabir Khan,

Loveleen Tandan Loveleen Tandan is an Indian film and casting director. She is the co-director (India) of ''Slumdog Millionaire'' along with Danny Boyle. She has also been the casting director for several other films, including '' Monsoon Wedding'' (2001) and ' ...

, Aseem Mishra and Saurabh Narang.

Commercial Work

He has contributed to various international projects such as the One World programme for UNICEF delegates on Unspooling the Documentary Process and for institutes such as

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

, Russian Film School and

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

. Khan was chosen to make an Audio Visual for Commemoration of 50 years for both UNICEF and WHO from amongst all the Professional Photographers around the world.

Sony World Photography Awards, Cannes

He brought to India the World Photography Award – Student Focus at the Palais des Festival in

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

, defeating finalists from all the other continents. It was won by the team he was leading, consisting of two of his students at AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia in 2009. In 2010, the team led by him were the Asia finalists. The award brought the focus of World Photography on India and AJK Mass Communication and Research Centre.

Research on the Female Gaze

Based on his study of curated work of various female photographers, Khan attributes the female gaze to anything that has been photographed by a woman which according to him is actually breaking the stereotypical view created by "male-constructed" photographs that have shown women in a certain light throughout the history of visual arts.

Campaign for Soldiers "Chitthi Aayi Hai"

In an attempt to encourage and inculcate letter-writing habit among youngsters, Khan conceived and curated a multimedia project #ChitthiAayiHai, where people photographed themselves and got it printed on a postcard, which they posted with a personalised message to their loved ones and soldiers.

Documenting Reality: Metaphors of Life

Khan delivered a lecture in

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

at the Lalit Kala Academy, talking about the importance of sound effects, the direction of light, and relation with characters to take a good picture. He used the examples from works of

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...

Andrey Tarkovsky Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky (, ; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter of Russian origin. He is widely considered one of the greatest directors in cinema history. His films explore spiritual and metap ...

and

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

to explain the importance of image and its perception in relation with other mediums.

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Farhat Basir 1957 births Living people Indian photojournalists People from Aligarh Aligarh Muslim University alumni Indian Muslims Founders of academic institutions Journalists from Uttar Pradesh Photographers from Uttar Pradesh