Rio de Janiero, 2006
Adil is a photographer and filmmaker based in Australia, with over 25 years of experience in both commercial and documentary photography. His work spans travel, editorial, and personal storytelling – often blurring the lines between art and reportage.
Born into an Army family, Adil grew up on the move across India and the US. That early exposure to diverse cultures and landscapes shaped his eye and deepened his curiosity about people and place. He holds a B.A. in English Literature and an AAS in Photography (with Honors) from Northwest College in Wyoming.
After graduating, Adil honed his craft in New York, assisting acclaimed photographers like Sante d’Orazio, Mark Abrahms, and Ranjit Grewal on high-end editorial and advertising shoots.
Creativity runs in the family, his mother and grandfather were both painters, and their influence is woven into his visual storytelling. Today, Adil continues to balance commercial work with personal documentary projects.
Exhibitions:
Permanent collection – Northwest College, Powell, Wyoming, 1997–1999
“Maha Kumbha Mela” – Solo show, Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, 27 February – 2 March 2001
“Exhibit A” – Group show, Mumbai, 2002, 2003, 2005
“145th Annual Print Contest and Exhibition” – Royal Photographic Society, UK, 2002–2003
“v/s” – Group show, Hacienda Gallery, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai, 15–22 April 2007
Career Highlights:
Studied with Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Steven G. Smith at Northwest College, 1997–1999
Three films sent to Cannes/Cannes Lions – two nominations and one winner
Met and had lunch with the legendary Arnold Newman in New York, 1999-2000
Interviewed at the legendary Irving Penn’s studio for an internship, 1999
Worked with Heidi Klum and Claudia Schiffer in New York, 1999–2000, while assisting Ranjit Grewal, Mark Abrahms and Greg Miller
Printed a mural-sized black and white image of Kate Moss shot by Sante d’Orazio – part of the permanent collection at the Los Angeles County Museum
Received two National Emergency Medals in Australia for disaster relief work in the field.
Past Clients:
Editorial – Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian, Travel + Leisure (India–South Asia), Cosmopolitan (India), Verve, Femina, The Times of India Sunday Review, TIME (Asia), India Today, Outlook, Elle (India)
Advertising – Sony Music, L’Oréal, Unilever, Cadbury, IndiGo Airlines, TSMC, Pears, Lux, Vaseline, Close-Up, Tang, Asmi Jewellery, Vicks, Vision World, Salt Water Grill (restaurant), Sweetex, MTV
Film Publicity – Boom, Black, Dhoom 2, King of Bollywood
Fine art prints available for custom order (signed and numbered) or unsigned at:
https://www.saatchiart.com/en-au/account/artworks/394960
With Aishwarya Rai and Hritik Roshan – somewhere near Durban, South Africa – early 2006
Other creative highlights:
Voice-overs:
Represented by EM Voices in Sydney for voiceover work. Clients include – HSBC Bank, CSIRO, NSW safety campaign, currently on the Qantas safety video and an Audible book.
Theatre:
He wrote, composed and produced a children’s musical on climate change called Where will all the penguins go?? for the Sydney Fringe Fesitival 2018. Held 4 shows at the Bondi Pavilion Theatre in August – September 2018. Adil completed the first draft of the script while at the summer intensive creative writing program at Exeter College, Oxford University in the summer of 2016.
Music:
He has written, composed and published 10 songs which are available on all the major streaming platforms under the artist name Addii – Spotify, Apple Music, Youtube etc. The songs are collaborations with phenomenal musicians across the world – Itaiguara Brandão – double bass, Vitaliy Tkachuk – guitar, Ben Trigg – cello, Adam Alesi – drums, Nuno Silva – oud, Luiz Tornaghi – mastering engineer, Marta Garrett – vocals, Lynsey Tibbs – vocals, João Paulo Drumond – percussion, Bence Táborszky – trumpet, James Graham – piano and Merryl Neille on flute.
His music is across genres – pop, rock, ballads, contemporary classical, folk – with strong Indian influences. He shot, directed, produced and edited his first music video for the first song he released I’m light years away. He wrote An electric night in Odesa for the soldiers of Ukraine, especially the tank regiments (as a special tribute since his father was in a tank regiment during his years in the Indian Army.) The children’s chorus was recorded in Gurgaon with the help of Mrs Mahindroo and 30 of her students.
