By Shehar Bano Khan

Though seemingly benign, their entry into fashion photography has rocked a few old boats. Rizwan and Munazza, working as Deevees, are two regular people doing fashion shoots - nothing unusual, and nothing that has not been done before. If that be it, why is the old guard of fashion photography trying to pull down the iron curtain on this husband-wife duo?

One most apparent reason is Rizwan and Munazza's rapid accession to a seminal status of becoming the golden couple by giving the much-needed lifeline to prosaic fashion photography. Instead of suppressing yawns while flipping through glossy fashion magazines, Deevees' work encourages turning of the next page with excitement. But changing the old guard is not easy and comes with a price.

In Deevees' case, the couple's invasion into the world of photography has opened up a major battle front. And, sallying forth the attack to counter the couple's impact are some of Pakistan's top photographers.

With poker-faced expressions betrayed by remarks laced with sarcasm, Deevees' detractors have started a campaign to nip their success. Calling their work banal and common, the high priests of fashion photography are desperately trying to underplay Deevees' rise to fame. Dismissed as copies of Ather Shehzad, Deevees' work is being described as a knock-off, giving way to a major clash of interest between the followers of the two camps.

Sitting at their house in Model Town, Lahore, Rizwan Baig tries to balance his three months old son on one knee and gives an affectionate smile to Munazza. "It is not uncommon for newcomers to face criticism. To tell you the truth, we welcome healthy criticism if it's going to improve our work. But to say that we copy others is unfair to us. If we had no originality why would people who had been working with others change loyalties and come to us instead? But we're here to work and stay, not get involved in any petty controversy," says Rizwan.

The Ather Shehzad camp claims that there is no worthwhile competition to even so much as compare the husband-wife duo with fashion photography's most acclaimed photographers. And yet, trying to play down Deevees' ascent to fame has become the same camp follower's end-of-the-day wind down. Quirking their eyebrows to indicate maximum condescension, Ather Shehzad loyalists miss no opportunity to go one up on Deevees. Some of them go to the ludicrous level of total denial by saying: "Deevees? Sounds familiar. Might have heard of them in passing but never seen their work."

Other snide remarks of these self-appointed fashion critics are, "Yes, we've seen their work. It's the same as Ather Shehzad's when they started their career. Deevees have yet to reach that maturity, that class which comes out in Ather Shehzad's work." Or so they think which does little to explain why Deevees is seen as a threat if their work summons little competition to those laying sole proprietary rights to fashion photography.

To have heard them in passing might be acceptable, but not to have seen their work is difficult to absorb. Doing cover shots for nearly all the major fashion magazines does not constitute 'hearing them in passing'. What is even more of an indigestible nature is that anyone in the same field, pitted against a limited number of competitors, can hardly miss seeing Deevees' work.

For starters, take stock of this: Nearly every top model has faced Rizwan Baig across his camera, helped in the transformation to glamour by Munazza's make-up palette. Neha, the latest entrant to modelling has become the most sought after published face in fashion magazines. Deevees' photo shoots bring out the model's natural naivete and poise rather than relying on her sexuality. The couple's strength to leave a lot to the imagination have fashion designers beelining for Deevees to inject some long, overdue freshness into a profession made almost bland by the stereotypical imagination of a handful of photographers.

"Rizwan is the best in this profession. He has vision and is imaginative. What I like about him is that he does not expose my designs. I had this problem with other photographers. The moment my shoot was out in a magazine, all my designs would be copied. I like the way he keeps the mystery in his shoots," says Beejee, Lollywood's leading designer. But, that is not all to the talent of Deevees. Neither is Beejee the only one to join the couple's club of admirers.

Classical designers of Nilofer Shahid's Meeras admire the couple's confidence. So do Shaiyanne Malik, Hasan Sheharyar of HSY, Karma, Nicki and Nina and a host of other aces of the world of fashion. "Deevees were 'amused' when Hasan Sheharyar, a devout Ather Shehzad follower, contacted them for a shoot at a time when Shehzad was out of country. What do you say to that. Is that not changing lanes?" quips an insider.

The couple's first shoot five years back was a total disaster. At that time, Deevees was a nonentity, as was Rizwan and Munazza's work. For an entire year the couple slogged hard to improve till they were asked to do their first shoot for Maria B. Deciding not to work under their own name helped to give the couple the much-required edge. "Deevees stands for 'dynamic views'. Munazza and I were thinking of a signature name and we both agreed on Deevees," explains the photographer.

The Maria B shoot was a roaring success, giving them much-needed confidence. And their career touched a further high when the two got married four years ago. "I only had Rs95,000 and nothing else. I didn't even have a place to call my own. But from the time we got married our luck changed. I firmly believe it is Munazza's luck that has brought us success," Rizwan reveals.

Using less of what is called the flat-light technique, Deevees' reliance on outdoor shoots gives them an edge over other photographers. Another edge that the fashion photography's latest roll of honour candidates enjoy is their experimentation with make-up, hairstyles and light. Working from their home-based studio, Deevees turns the unassuming status of the room into a glamorous backdrop for models with the skilful interplay of camera and make-up. The result is enough to threaten fashion photography's conventional sages.

But Shehzad Reza insists that Deevees roaring success has not displaced his position. Sounding a bit piqued when asked to comment on the ongoing battle to win loyalists between his camp and Deeves', he retorted: "Why should we be in any way threatened by Deevees? We have our own style and they have their own. I have heard that they copy us, but that's okay with us - we have to be good to be copied. And it is absolutely untrue that I have ever stopped my models from working with Deevees. The profession is big enough to accomodate more than one photographer."

Of course, the profession should have many photographers, but is it possible for them to survive under the hawklike clutches of ungenerous Methuselahs?

Munazza works with her husband to fulfil her ambition to change the monotony gripping our fashion photography. Her meeting with Rizwan and subsequently falling in love is a story unto itself. Coming from two diverse backgrounds, both of them felt instantly drawn to each other when they first met at a private studio of a professor teaching at the National College of Art. Rizwan had just graduated from the Diyal Singh College and wanted to study art. Finding Munazza studying art at R.M. Naeem's studio struck a common chord between the two. "I came from the lower middle class and realized that I had to have a steady career if I wanted to have a family with Munazza," says Rizwan.

The then 17-year-old Munazza switched from architecture to graphic designing to study the same course with 21-year-old Rizwan. By the time the two graduated, Rizwan had decided to take up fashion photography. "I took photography courses at the NCA, which is why my shoots are technically better than the rest. Munazza had a natural flair for drawing and wanted to experiment with make-up. Whatever styling you see in our shoots is all Munazza's work," continues Rizwan.

The fashion shoots in some of Pakistan's leading fashion magazines reveal Munazza's avant garde taste in hair and make-up. Using non-conventional techniques to accentuate a model's contours, the make-up artist plays with bold colours and earthy hues. "Unlike others stylists, I don't rely on making the models look just pretty. Depending upon the theme of the shoot, I try to bring out their personality," reasons Munazza.

Call it luck or what have you, but Deevees work is more than the good fortune of a wife. The couple has major assignments lined up for the season, most of which are cover shoots with the country's finest models. Whatever the old guard thinks, Deevees cannot be taken as a seasonal preference. It's time for the sages of fashion photography to let fresh draught in.