When Steve McCurry Shot Bollywood: Rare Photos of Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi, Anil Kapoor and Dev Anand

Steve McCurry is one of the world's most celebrated photographers, best known for capturing Afghan Girl, the haunting portrait of a young refugee with striking green eyes that became one of the most iconic images in the history of National Geographic. Over a career spanning more than four decades, the American photographer has documented conflicts, cultures and everyday life across the globe.

During a recent visit to India, the photojournalist and visual storyteller recalled the time he photographed some of Bollywood's most celebrated personalities in 1993. In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India at the Leica store in Mumbai, McCurry revisits photographing Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi, Anil Kapoor and more.

"I wanted to do it because I was trying to explore different facets of Bombay," said McCurry, revealing that though he wasn't contracted to photograph the celebrities, it was something he wanted to do out of his own interest. "The Indian movies were so big and larger than life, so I was the one who contacted different people," he adds.

Pointing to a photo of Anil Kapoor and the late Sridevi on his phone, he said, "I photographed him [Kapoor] several times, and I photographed them both together a few times for different movies in Film City."

McCurry also mentioned that this opportunity came his way while he was working for National Geographic, which made it easy for him to work on a film set.

"I photographed Aishwarya Rai and Amitabh Bachchan. One door would open another door, and that's how I got to meet and photograph Dev Anand," he revealed.

Pausing for a moment to recall another name, he remembered it was Anupam Kher he had also captured on camera, describing him as kind and approachable.