Veteran and well-known cameraman Peter Pereira passed away on 10th January in Bombay due to age-related issues. He was 93. His funeral was held the same day.
Peter had stopped work as cinematographer since more than 20 years because he had gone blind. Sadly, not many in the industry cared to even enquire after his health once he was forced to quit — and this in spite of the fact that he was a force to reckon with when he was around. After his blindness, Peter who lit up the sets for many films, lived a life in obscurity. Sadly, nobody in the industry had the time to do anything for him or even go to meet him.
Peter Pereira was one of the leading camermen of his time. He had cinematographed Mr. India for which he won accolades. Among his other well-known films were Border and Ajooba. At a time when special effects in films made in India were in the nascent stage, Peter Pereira was considered a special effects wizard. He was a fine human being and very soft-spoken. He always let his work speak for himself.
Documentary filmmaker Hemant Chaturvedi, while breaking the news of the sad demise, rued the indifference of the film industry to a man who gave the industry so much. Chaturvedi wrote, “The legend is no more. A career of over 60 years. Peter Pereira passed away today. Cinematographer and Special Effects genius. He went blind 20+ years ago and was conveniently forgotten by his fraternity, in the typically callous and selfish way in which our film industry functions. Other than his presence in my documentary film, there exists only one other interview of the man who spawned several generations of excellence. He is the star of my documentary and his effect on my life cannot be explained. It’s a sad reflection of the Bombay film industry and it’s abject selfishness and arrogance that is continuously appalling and grotesque. I wish Peter Uncle eternity and immortality. There will never be another one like him. He would have been 94 this year.”