A three-year project. Fifty-six faces. Zero retouching. Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra has thrown his considerable public weight behind photographer Atul Kasbekar's exhibition Honest: Portraits of Character — a series that strips away every layer of artifice to reveal the real faces behind India's most beloved character actors.

Mahindra, writing on Tuesday, 4 August 2026, called Kasbekar 'one of the leading lights of Indian photography for over two decades' and described the work as 'spectacular' — high praise from an industrialist whose social media endorsements routinely reach millions. The exhibition ran at Jio World Plaza in Mumbai, and while its physical run has concluded, Mahindra is directing followers to a virtual tour on Kasbekar's website.

Fifty-Six Actors, Three Years, No Filters

The premise of Honest is deceptively simple: photograph 56 of India's finest character actors — not the stars, but the faces audiences recognise without always knowing the name — and do it without a single touch of post-production. No retouching. No digital smoothing. Every line, every scar, every lived-in crease, left exactly as the lens captured it.

Kasbekar described the intent as capturing 'rare moments when the mask is off' — the precise instant between performance and persona when something unguarded surfaces. For actors who have spent careers disappearing into roles, that unguarded moment is the rarest portrait of all.

Kasbekar's Place in Indian Visual Culture

Atul Kasbekar is among the most recognised names in Indian commercial and portrait photography, with a career spanning fashion, advertising, and editorial work. His eye has shaped the visual identity of some of India's most prominent public figures and brands. Honest marks a deliberate pivot — from the polished world of commercial shoots to something rawer, more personal, and arguably more lasting.

Mahindra noted that beyond professional admiration, he counts Kasbekar as a personal friend — lending the endorsement an intimacy that goes beyond a routine celebrity shout-out. The chairman explicitly urged his audience to experience the collection virtually, pointing directly to the gallery at atulkasbekar.com.

Why Character Actors, Why Now

India's character actors occupy a peculiar cultural space: indispensable to every story told on screen, yet routinely overshadowed by the industry's leading names. A project that places them centre-frame — unretouched, unguarded, unhurried — is quietly political in the best sense. It insists that these faces deserve the same careful, unhurried gaze usually reserved for marquee stars.

The virtual exhibition keeps that argument alive long after the gallery lights went dark. Mahindra's endorsement ensures it reaches an audience well beyond the art-photography circuit — into boardrooms, newsfeeds, and living rooms across India.