A yearful of hot dates

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Waking up to a picture perfect model or a sizzling superstar with their flawless expressions couldn’t have been possible without these skilled photographers, who stay behind the scenes but work magic. Top-notch celebrity photographers are ready with their “much-talked-about” in the social circuit calendars, and the spotlight is on hot dates.

Dabboo Ratnani, known for capturing the up-close-and-personal moments of Bollywood A-listers, released his calendar last week featuring Vidya Balan, Priyanka Chopra, Amitabh Bachchan and other biggies. He says that as a photographer he doesn’t like to stick to a particular theme while shooting his annual calendar, and adds, “For me the hero of my calendar is always the art of photography. Whenever I shoot for calendars I tell the stars to pose without any inhibition, and that adds a lot to the picture. We focus more on the design element, and try to keep the pictures simple. Using various colour schemes, photography techniques and lenses, we experiment with various moods each time. For 2013, instead of opting for safe studio shots this time we went outdoors and shot the actors.”
Fashion photographer Atul Kasbekar, who picks the finest models every year for the Kingfisher Calendar, shot six leggy lasses at Kruger National Park, Johannesburg, and Cape Town this time. The 13th edition of this calendar features models like Elena Fernandes, Kyra Dutta, Kanishtha Dhankar and Nevena Pejatovik. “The product is unique and has a mass appeal because the pictures are shot with great aesthetics and underplayed sensuality. The calendar enjoys its reputation because even though it caters to a very niche segment, its reach is till the common denominator,” says Atul.
Apart from the regulars, this time a few other photographers also have a starry lineup for 2013. Fashion photographer Anushka Menon, who is quite a bombshell herself, reveals that even though she doesn’t do calendars every year, got an offer she couldn’t resist this year. She mentions, “I have shot a fashion calendar for a modeling agency this year, where we have featured six different looks for the coming season. Six renowned designers have contributed for this shoot. The entire shoot happened in and around Delhi. The final pictures were developed in association with graphic designer Archan Nair, and the calendar will be launched by the end of this month.”
Mumbai-based photographer Vikram Bawa, who will be coming up with a glam calendar in a couple of months, reveals, “We will be featuring stars in a very fashionable avatar for this calendar. I can’t reveal the names right now, but they will not look anything like they do normally as we have conceptualised a highly fashionable theme this time.”