KOLKATA: Destiny put a camera in Avijit Halder's hands in 2004. Today, the boy born into a Sonagachhi brothel is framing his own destiny with it, as an assistant director in Hollywood.

The story of Halder, who was among the eight children of sex workers featured in the Oscar-winning 2004 documentary 'Born Into Brothels' directed by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman, has taken incredible turns in the nine years since.

He went to the US to study in 2005 as a 14-year-old and hasn't looked back. A New York University (NYU) degree in 2012 gave the 22-year-old a ticket to Beverly Hills. Halder worked as an assistant director in Dan Baron's 'Basmati Blues', a musical on a US genetics company exploiting Indian farmers starring Donald Sutherland and Brie Larson. Amid the post-production frenzy, however, he is yearning to be home for the Pujas and spend time with his sister and granny.

Halder's road to Hollywood, and to a new life, was through the photographs he took for the documentary. He stood out with his snapshots on life in Sonagachhi, some of them images of the mess of his own house. The documentary-makers subsequently set up a charity, Kids With Cameras, to help Halder and the other kids with their education. Photography exhibitions were held in Kolkata and New York and an auction in Sotheby's raised funds. Halder was also invited to a photo talent competition in Amsterdam.

He went to study in a school in New Hampshire with the funds raised. In 2008, NYU accepted his application for its film-making course. The shutterbug graduated to a cinematographer in 2012. "I came to the US in 2005 and was accepted in a New England, preppy, outdoor high school in the white mountains of New Hampshire," Halder told TOI on Friday. "I had quite a bit of difficulty with the accent. Every time I'd learn a new word or hear a word that sounded different, I would go the bathroom, and practice in front of a mirror till I got it down."

From New Hampshire, he moved to Utah to a high school with full scholarship. "After graduating from high school, I was torn between medicine and film. I chose NYU where I could perhaps double major. In the first year, though, I fell in love with film. It's as if I was born to do this. I did have a very hard time in the expensive NY," he added.

Few members of his family are left in Bengal - his father was a drug addict and his mother died in his teens - but Halder is extremely homesick. "I have only my grandma and my little sister Mou. I miss Kolkata immensely. I was there in June for 10 days after the movie I was working for was completed. I try to come back as often as once a year, but it is extremely difficult to save money for the airfare," he said.

Durga Puja is always on his mind around this time of the year. "I have missed the Pujas for eight years now. That's one of the biggest reasons I regret being in America. Yes, there are celebrations here but nothing as grand as in Kolkata."

Speaking of movies, was the journey from the spotlight to behind the camera a natural progression, then? "After I graduated from NYU with a BFA in Film and TV, I was like a zombie, freelancing as a cinematographer and camera assistant. Cinematography really attracts me. The way light, shadows, contrast and textures are painted with a moving camera to tell a story still astounds me. I never saw myself as a filmmaker but it happened nonetheless," he said. "As for the Hollywood project, a friend of a friend had introduced me to the filmmakers. It was shot in Mumbai and Kerala. During the pre-production stage I served as the director's assistant. But I enjoyed the most during the actual production, when I was a camera assistant."

However, Halder is not dazzled by Hollywood. "I am not a big Hollywood fan in terms of filmmaking. But it's a good form of entertainment when I am bored. My favorite filmmakers are Polish director Krzysztof Kieœlowski, Stanley Kubrick, Ingmar Bergman, Wong Kar-wai and Roman Polanski. I also look up to Mira Nair and Deepa Mehta. Some of the new-age Indian filmmakers like Sujoy Ghosh, Anurag Kashyap and Qaushiq also impress me. As actors, I love Anthony Hopkins, Meryl Streep, Javier Bardem, Irrfan Khan and Sean Penn, among others. My all time favorite movie is 'Double Vie de Veronique (The Double Life of Veronique)' by Kieœlowski," he said.

