She redefines herself with the same effortless ease in real life as with which she switches roles in reel life. Actor, director, painter, poet -- Deepti Naval has donned numerous avatars in her quest for self-expression. The latest manifestation of her creative urge is a collection of winterscapes captured on camera during a trip to Ladakh in February, 1998.

"There's an ethereal quality about Ladakh which draws me to it year after year. The vast expanses of land conjure up a sense of journey, a hint of things to come." Titled `In Search of a New Sky', this collection is the first public display of Deepti's work as a photographer. But her affair with the camera dates back to her college days in New York when she did a short professional course in photography. A fascination for cinema brought her to Mumbaiin 1979. Starting with Sai Paranjpai's Chashme Baddoor in the early '80s, Deepti went on to establish herself as an actress of repute, winning critical acclaim for her performances in films such as Katha, Kamala, Mirch Masala and Ankahi.

A film career, however, did not thwart her passion for photography. Rather, cinema honed her visual eye and gave her the opportunity to travel. "My Canon camera is a constant companion during shoots to various locations. I take turns being in front of and behind the camera!" An admirer of Raghu Rai's images, Deepti also likes the work of British photographer, David Hamilton. However, she does not follow trends in professional photography too closely. Nor does she dwell too much on technical details. "I try to look for a certain poetic quality in things. Whenever I see a composition that moves me, I shoot."

`In Search of Another Sky', the actress reveals, is the outcome of a sudden trip to Ladakh prompted by a desire for solitude. The pictures were an instinctive responseto the beauty of landscape and were not intended to be part of an exhibition. It was only after she got the rolls developed that she saw certain symmetry in the collection and decided to display the pictures publicly. Marked by a stark minimalism and a virtual absence of the human element, the photographs unravel a side of Ladakh unexplored in coffee-table books and travelogues. Instead of glossy snapshots of local women festooned with traditional finery, we have a series of haunting abstract images a clump of labyrinthine trees, a row of memory tombs, a carved panel lit up by a shaft of broken sunlight, a frozen vessel resting on the ashes of the previous night's fire. "There is a poetic quality about Ladakh in the winter which I wanted to capture through my lens the varied textures of the mountains, the muted earth colours, the play of shadows."

The actress' meditative frame of mind is reflected in her compositions, many of which stand out for their exquisite symbolism. Titled `The Thornbearer', oneimage captures the paradox of a smiling mountain girl bearing a stack of thorny firewood on her frail back. Another frame, Deepti's favourite, shows two ruddy Ladakhi women smiling serenely against a muted grey backdrop. "There's a wonderful linear quality about the women, a sense of things to come."

Weary of labels, Deepti does not like being identified with any single creative medium. "When I displayed my paintings in 1996, people called me an actress-turned-painter. Now they say I am a painter-turned-photographer. But I like to experiment with various forms simultaneously. As a thinking, sensitive person I react to life and express myself in whatever means is available to me." Which is how she explains her near-absence from films over the last few years. "The stock mother and sister roles reserved by Bollywood for women my age do not interest me. I am waiting to be seduced by an exciting script." Currently involved with Tadap, a serial on Indians based in New York, the actress is also due to appear inJagmohan Mundra's film, Bhanwari, in which she plays a social activist. Beyond that, she has no plans for the future. "I am content to drift along, taking each day as it comes. For me it is the journey, the experience, that matters more than the destination."

At Piramal Art Gallery, NCPA. Till Dec 4. Time: 11.00 pm to 7.00 pm.