Abhishek Anupam


Raised in Eastern India during the liberalised 90s, comics, cricket, and classic rock shaped my formative years. The discovery of photography during engineering studies, thanks to my brother's camera, sparked my passion for visual storytelling, now extending to documentary filmmaking and design.

Documentary / Corporate / Commercial

Get in touch, let’s create!

photo@abhishekanupam.com
+91-9480706778
abhishek.anupam
Mumbai, India

Coal Dependence: Lives in an Extractive Economy
The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi

#DevelopmentSector #Energy

Index

A man observing the operations of a private drilling and mining corporation from atop a hill. This site, once bustling with trucks, engineers, and local labourers under government management, now reflects the shift towards private enterprise. However, this privatisation has opened the sector to corporations that often fail to provide the comprehensive support systems—such as healthcare and education infrastructure—that the local people relied upon under previous state operations. This transition highlights a key issue in the energy sector: the erosion of established social safeguards in the pursuit of economic efficiency. 

Giridih, Jharkhand
2024
The global imperative to embrace a greener and cleaner energy future requires not only technological and fiscal shifts but a profound re-evaluation of social justice. This documentary project, titled Decentering the Lens, moves beyond macro-policy debates to explore the essential human relationship with the coalfields, framing the 'Just Transition' as a complex negotiation of identity, economy, and power.

This body of work is conceptually rooted in the understanding that the transition away from coal is layered with socio-economic complexities. A 'Just Transition' demands that we deliberately decentre the gaze from privileged, power-holding groups to provide a true reflection of collective plurality.

The relationship between the land, the mines, and the local community is not merely transactional; it defines identity and social structure. For decades, coal has established a specific culture, a visible signature that have shaped the lives  and economic realities of people in these areas.


Rooted in this ground reality, the visual documentation served as evidence-backed insight. Just as a photograph’s composition can alter its meaning , we are framing the transition not as an inevitable loss, but as an opportunity to redistribute the authority to frame and interpret the world, establishing a foundation for future, ground-level demonstrations of people-centric transitions.

#Direction #DoP

The documentary As She Changes explores the complex value chain and stakeholder interactions—from miners to local businesses—that face disruption. Our lens is informed by key research, including TERI’s pioneering work on the need for a gender-just transition in India’s coal mining regions and its tailored framework for transition.The film and the images produced as part of this project formed the basis of the exhibition Coal Dependence: Lives in an Extractive Economy, that aimed to shed light on the lives of communities that are intricately connected to the coal economy. Through a series of photographs, the exhibition examined the everyday realities of individuals engaged in selling, extracting, and transporting coal which happens in the absence of alternate lucrative means of income. These images poignantly highlighted the vulnerabilities faced by these communities in Giridih, Jharkhand as we plan to transition towards cleaner energy sources.




The Smart Biogas Story
Inclusive Energy

#DevelopmentSector
#Story #EnergyInclusive Energy's Smart Biogas systems were piloted in the nearby villages of Barauni, Bihar. The system is helping villagers who rear cattle transform the cow dung into clean cooking and heating fuel. This not only turns waste into a valuable resource but also saves them money by reducing their reliance on costly conventional fuels. This straightforward, on-site energy production empowers local communities and supports a cleaner, sustainable way of living.

Business Insider

#Story #Editorial

Story focusing on the steep Lemon price surge in India in 2022, by Business Insider as part of a larger project on global food supply.



Intelehealth

#DevelopmentSector
#Design #Communication
#Photography Intelehealth employs open-source technology to enable Governments, NGOs, and Hospitals to seamlessly connect hard-to-reach populations with high-quality primary healthcare.

My professional engagement with Intelehealth, facilitated through In Vaarta Communications, has spanned over two years. During this period, I have had the comprehensive opportunity to produce core visual assets, including images and films, execute design work, and strategically support the development and execution of their communication strategy.

A healthcare worker is using the Intelehealth app to enter the patient’s initial information. This data quickly creates a first look at the patient's condition, which a doctor will use from a distance to provide help. This is how remote-location patients are connected with good healthcare.

Peth, Nashik,
2023

Over the years, we’ve created many communication products, recently Intelehealth’s Annual Impact Report 2025.

Are you looking for a development sector communications agency? Check our work  

In Vaarta Communications


Interested in report design? 
Look at the report   

Intelehealth Annual Report 2025

Ashoka Centre for a People-centric Energy Transition (ACPET)


#Film #PhotoStory
#DevelopmentSectorACPET is a transdisciplinary centre with a vision to see the global south, particularly India, transitioning to a sustainable, secure, equitable energy pathway leading to the wellbeing of all in a timely manner.

As an integral part of this documentation, writer and communication specialist Swaja Saransh has captured the reality of people living within this region through brilliant essays. Delve deeper into these compelling narratives by exploring the following photo-stories.

Unmade
A  Transition Backwards

An Ancillary Life
Bearing the cross of an abandoned mine

The short documentary, Beyond the Mines, offers an exploration of the new reality confronting the people of Daltongunj, Jharkhand as the region slowly transitions away from coal mining. Once a vibrant community, flourishing like a lotus, the area is now facing a profound economic void. The narrative captures the human impact of this shift, examining the critical scarcity of opportunities that now defines daily life for the remaining population.

#Direction #DoP

The Markets of Karnataka
Where does economics manifest, and what essential relationships does it forge between the community of producers, the labourers, and society at large?

Shot across the dynamic markets of Ramgarh and Bangalore in Karnataka, these images collectively serve as a visual index of the region’s vibrancy. They capture the compelling, interesting faces we encounter - individuals whose presence defines the structure and rhythm of these vital economic centres.


Drawing the Muggulu with ECOR

#DocumentaryShort
#Film #DoP #Decarbonisation #ClimateChange
India is the second largest producer of rice in the world, the problem of waste generated (rice-stubble/parali) after cutting the yield is a problem that has taken news spotlight in many parts of the country in the form air pollution.

As part of this project, we spent time in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh in an attempt to understand the challenges faced by rice farmers, and potential intervention that EU’s Resource Efficiency Initiative (EU-REI) could provide.

This short film promotes and builds awareness on ECOR Global's material value chain, a Netherlands-based enterprise that uses secondary raw materials for making products. Leftover rice stalks, a waste generated in the processing of rice could become a secondary raw material used to make an array of products.




People & Places
My journey into photography began, in many respects, with John Berger's foundational work, Ways of Seeing. Berger introduced the compelling idea that seeing is far from a banal activity; it is, in reality, profoundly informed by intricate layers of complexity - be they social, emotional, or personal.

Initially, my interest in the medium was primarily focused on exploring the visual architecture of colour and geometry. However, over a decade later this practice has significantly refined my editorial judgement. I have developed the capacity to see more, and crucially, to see better, hopefully incorporating a richer, more nuanced complexity into the resulting images than before.

©2025 Abhishek Anupam