Bollywood has always had us looking forward to something or the other. Be it the release of a much-awaited multi-starrer movie or the many celebrity parties and events that have millions glued to their TV sets. But what does the Bollywood glitterati unanimously look forward to, with bated breath? Something absolutely unique – a fashion calendar! Dabboo Ratnani’s famed Bollywood calendar is undoubtedly the highlight of every New Year in B-Town!
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For about a decade and half, Dabboo Ratnani has been immortalizing Bollywood’s divas and dudes in his wonderfully crafted calendar. Dabboo Ratnani has that unique ability to bring out genuine emotions from his models and this has been one of the biggest factors in propelling the calendar to its position of pride. The other factor is the sensuous and desirable portrayal of Bollywood’s beautiful ladies. There is always a surreal beauty to his portraits. His excellence in fashion portraits and ever-evolving creativity has attracted the crème de la crème of Bollywood aristocracy to pose for his camera.
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Take a look at his glamorous shots and you wouldn’t believe that photography for Dabboo Ratnani began as a hobby. His genre is a mix of fashion, movies, advertising and personality portraiture. However, he excels in all of them. Dabboo Ratnani’s well-known skills have had top-notch celebrities like Bachchan senior, Sachin Tendulkar, Micheal Jackson and Borris Becker in front of his camera. His usual pin-up boys include Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Sanjay Dutt, Akshay Kumar, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan. The lucky ladies to be featured on his portfolio are Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Deepika Padukone and most recently Alia Bhatt. The list most definitely does not stop there and is growing calendar after calendar.
Every year, on his birthday (December 24th), Dabboo Ratnani launches his annual collector’s edition calendar that features Bollywood in its best element – glamour. This year gives us the 15th calendar in this series. This calendar is sent out to the photographer’s clients, friends and prospective clientele only. About his masterpiece, Dabboo says; “My calendar is a platform to showcase my work. I aesthetically shoot them like they have never been seen before and I style the picture the way I imagine. The stars often do cooperate with my experimentation and fortunately, I do manage to get my ‘first times’ out of each star. The calendar has a shelf value of a year, and it is very important for the image to tell a story within itself.”
The 2014 Dabboo Ratnani calendar was launched on January 5th, with the likes of SRK and Bipasha sharing the stage with the photographer and his family. This year features Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Arjun Rampal, Priyanka Chopra, Salman Khan, Vidya Balan and Bipasha in candid moments. Alia Bhatt would be seen in her second Dabboo Ratnani calendar, petting her cat and looking gorgeously curvy, Sonakshi Sinha has gone for the punk style with a cuff on her ear. Parineeti Chopra, Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan, Ajay Devgn, Kajol and Katrina Kaif are the others sharing space in the most prestigious calendar.
In a nutshell, Dabboo Ratnani’s 2014 calendar is beyond stunning – it’s just drool worthy! Don’t you agree?