"It doesn't feel I've done 15 calendars, I feel as if it's my first calendar. I'm so excited about it and that's worked in my favour," says Dabboo Ratnani in the second part of his Bollywood Hungama exclusive interview with Faridoon Shahryar. "In April, I complete 20 years in the industry and the Calendar has been responsible in a big way in keeping me excited about my job," Dabboo said. In the second part of our exclusive slideshow on Dabboo's 15 Annual Calendar, we bring some scintillating pictures of the reigning superstars and talented vivacious newcomers. Dabboo speaks about each of the six pictures and you can also watch him speak about the same in the exclusive video bytes attached below. Over to some lights, camera and that thing called Magic!
Shahrukh Khan:
We all know that Shahrukh smokes. But he's not promoting cigarettes in my picture. He's just holding it. The idea of the picture is that he has just come back from a premiere of his movie maybe. He has taken off his jacket, about to undress, lying back in bed and enjoying a thought, holding a cigarette in his hand, wondering how the evening went before he goes on to access his Twitter account, I guess! That's how I imagine SRK to be. I have shot with many girls and models in bed in a sensuous pose but this is the first time I am doing that with a man. And Shahrukh pulled it off very beautifully. His eyes are, moreover, slightly closed which looks quite sexy. He liked the picture where his eyes are completely closed. But I wanted it to be just slightly closed so that it looks sexy and gives an impression that he's talking to the camera.
Parineeti Chopra:
Parineeti Chopra hasn't done anything in the sensuous zone. She was unsure of the concept when I narrated to her. I was sure it would work as people have already seen her in the comic, fun, high-energy and boyish kind of space. Hence, I wanted to try something different. I assured her that she can trust me which she did, completely. And when she saw the first click on my laptop, she loved it completely. She called me later and kept thanking me for the picture. It was very sweet of her to say that it was on her checklist to be on my calendar! That was quite a touching gesture. And she looks quite stunning in the picture.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan:
Me and Aishwarya go a long way back. I saw her for the first time in Mukesh Mills, Colaba. I was an assistant photographer while she had just won the Miss World title. Then, she was every photographer's dream. It was like, if you have shot Ash, you have arrived as a photographer! The first time I shot with her, she came to my studio and I was nervous. But she calmed me down and since then, we have got along really well. As for the picture, even though we were doing a tight-close up shot, we worked on the make-up and her eyes. As a calendar shot, I thought that I should use something where she's looking into the camera. And she has got a stunning face. So, we decided to bring out her face, her beauty and eyes as strong points. It's like, the minute she looks back to you; the lens is going to explode!
Kareena Kapoor:
Kareena's picture reminds me of the Sharon Stone moment from Basic Instinct, although it wasn't the idea. We had initially planned a standing shot and we even clicked some pictures. Then we decided to use the chair, although we had our apprehensions as her dress was really short. But I realized that it may look sexy and hence we went ahead. The minute she did it, I was like, wow, this is it! Her make-up, hair and even her legs are done with a lot of shimmer.
Hrithik Roshan:
The first time Hrithik ever faced the camera was for me. Even then, I had done his really tight close ups and the way he used to pose and express was amazing. And even today, the way he gets totally involved during the photo shoot is something that people can really learn from, especially newcomers. From 2008 to 2012, I have been only doing body shots with Hrithik. And many people complained that we have already seen body shots of the actor. On the other hand, he has a gorgeous face and great hair. And he's one of the few actors who can carry close-up shots very well. And in the picture, the sexiness in his eyes, the movement of his hands etc all worked beautifully. He had apprehensions whether the picture worked. But I assured him that women are going to love it!
