In the old days when the world was black and white, a photograph used to go through a journey. First there was the ‘negative’—an image trapped in reverse luminosity, where the unlit portions looked the lightest and vice versa. Then the light and dark were made to swap places. It’s a wonder when you see a similar graph plotted in people, especially those who waltzed across the luminous history of cinema. And who more luminous than Waheeda Rehman?

Yes, the one who shone like a lamp in the best backlit shots of Hindi cinema has now become one who captures light and movement from the other side of the camera. A wildlife photographer, no less. And the ochre-green images are a wonder to behold, even if she is gracefully modest. “There is nothing out of the world about my photography,” she tells Outlook’s Lachmi Deb Roy. “Bahut ­purani baat hai…I had this burning ­interest in wildlife photography for a long time. When I see my guruji, Himan­shuu Chandrakant Sheth’s...