Photographer Rohan Shrestha On Shooting Lionel Messi: "My Hands Were Actually Shaking"

"At the end of the shoot he (Lionel Messi) came over and hugged me," wrote Rohan Shrestha

Photographer Rohan Shrestha recently got a chance to work with football legend Lionel Messi. Rohan, who is known for working with popular actors such as Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and others, on Thursday, shared a post on his Instagram handle expressing his happiness about working with Lionel Messi. In the note, he also revealed being a "massive fan" of the footballer and that his hands were shaking at the start of the shoot. Along with an emotional note, he shared many pictures from the photoshoot and a selfie with World Football Champion Lionel Messi. 

He wrote, "It all began as a simple WhatsApp message that I got from my wonderful friend, @manasvi18 'Hey are you a Messi fan?' he asked. 'Man, I worship the ground he walks on.' 'okay so would you be interested in shooting him?' He asks as I promptly reply with 'I will give you my left nut.' So we're going to Paris! It happened just like that. The most incredible part of my year." 

Rohan Shrestha added, "When people play the hypothetical game of 'Who's the one person you'd do anything to photograph?', for me, it was always this one guy. Being a Barca fan since 1999, Messi isn't just a footballer or the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) or the world champion. He's our boy from La Masia (in Spain), the one who's given me an infinite amount of happy memories since his debut in 2004/05. Prior to photographing my hero I was nervous, what do I wear? Should I tell him I'm obsesssed with him? I'm a barca fan? No? Okay, let's do what you normally do- let's try to _act_ professional. 'Don't deviate Rohan,' I told myself, 'be the photographer and not the fan'. The shoot was for Byjus where @singhvinsingh @adityank and of course @divyagokulnath - in the middle of them being so understanding of what we could all collectively achieve doing this shoot, I was allowed to shoot my '#whiteTseries' with Leo." 

Rohan continued, "At the start of this shoot my hands were actually shaking and I was like, 'okay this is what it's like to be very very nervous. I was a ball of anxiety prior and had to call up my friends to calm me down. The shoot was so smooth and eventually Lionel Messi was told by his team that I was a MASSIVE fan and at the end of the shoot he came over and hugged me. Post shoot ngl many tears were shed. Thank you to @homyarpatel my assistant who held me together when I was feeling nervous."