Josef Wirsching (22 March 1903 – 11 June 1967) sometimes credited as Joseph Wirsching, was a German cinematographer, who became a pioneer in cinematography in India and who contributed to the heritage of Cinema of India and still photography in its improvement into a scientific art of expression.
His association with Indian cinema started in 1925, when he worked with another German, Franz Osten, in the Indo-European collaboration, The Light of Asia.
Thereafter he settled in India, went on to work in over 20 films with Bombay Talkies and subsequently with Kamal Amrohi in Mahal (1949),[1] Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi (1960) and his masterpiece Pakeezah (1972), though he died while it was still under production.
[citation needed] Their only son, Wolfgang Peter Wirsching was born in Bombay, India in 1939.
[2] Before ‘Bombay Talkies’ closed down in 1954; he joined ‘AMA Limited’ in their documentary & ad-film division in 1954, where he photographed, co-photographed and partially directed a few of their productions in both color and black n white: After his stint in Bombay Talkies he joined Kamal Amrohi's Mahal Pictures as director of Photography in 1959 and did two films namely Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai (1960) and Pakeezah (1972), his only colour film.