Fwd: Most Awaited Calender - Extra Effort- Read the text First
Acharya, Gaurav
From: Rajeev Shrestha <pri...@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:48:22 +0545
Subject: Most Awaited Calender - Extra Effort- Read the text First
To:
The most awaited calendar of the year is out! Celebrity photographer Dabboo
Ratnani talks about the making of his calendar, and shares his journey of
shooting with the biggest names in Bollywood.
Want to know how he created magic with water? Hear it
from the man himself.
Kajol
This pictured can be titled "Kajol" because only she can
do
something so crazy with so much ease. Her expression was
perfect when she hurled coffee into the water. We had to do
this shot about 25-30 times but finally it turned out to be
pretty nice. She had to kick her legs in water and chuck
the
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*Perfection needs - Try ,25 -30 times or more
coffee and give the perfect expression, all at the same
time.
So it was quite a complex process. We had to take care that
the water or coffee does not fall on her face or on to the
camera. But finally Kajol pulled it off, and
we captured the
shot when the coffee actually circled her face. The coffee
droplets, which were in fast motion, were also captured
perfectly. It was a lot of fun working with Kajol.
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Hrithik Roshan
Hrithik's picture was done at hotel J W Marriot. I was
shooting in Bangkok about 3 years ago and we had spoken
about
this picture then. We had decided the theme at that time,
and
we conceptualized him reading a book- sitting on a chair
and
concentrating on the book even when the chair is tipping
over
water. Finally we got a chance to implement it, as "water"
was
my theme for the 2007 calendar. So we met a day before the
shoot to figure how it's going to be. We tried many shots
with
the chair. Finally the d-day arrived. Hrithik had got along
seven spare outfits so that he can wear a dry one after
each
shot till we get it right. We tried to do a shot without
the
chair, and luckily we got through in the very first shot.
So
we decided to go with it.
The most important thing in this image was Hrithik's
expression because he is reading the newspaper so intently
while he is tipping. From the minute he started falling to
the
fraction of the second when he hit the water he still held
that expression, which is amazing. There is a lot of hard
work
he had put in, he gave us one full day for the shooting but
of
course we did not need it. But the sincerity that he has
put
in comes through, especially for a non-commercial calendar
*ONLY SINCERITY
PAYS
that has been done just for the sake of art. Hrithik is one
of
the best male models we have in the industry and gives the
best pictures, but his dedication is like that of a
newcomer.
He doesn't ever want to compromise; he looks into
detailing,
and makes you feel special with the time and enthusiasm he
gives. It was a delight to work with him.
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Amitabh Bachchan
We shot Mr. Bachchan's photo with my dog Flash who is
quite a
model himself. Mr. Bachchan grew quite fond of dogs ever
since
Abhishek was gifted a pup for his birthday. Since then Mr.
Bachchan has grown quite easy with dogs and also holds an
emotional attachment towards them. Whenever he comes to my
studio he always plays with Flash and fools around with
him.
So this time I felt Mr. Bachchan must shoot with Flash. I
have
tried to get Flash in my calendar every year since the last
six years, so this time when a concept struck me I decided
to
go ahead with it, especially because Mr. Bachchan loved it
too. We did this shot at J W Marriot again by the poolside.
We *focused. approach
is all about
kept the frame ready and Mr. Bachchan came ready with his
make-up and outfit from home. We completed the shot in ten
minutes flat and then he left from there. So he is very
fast
to work with and totally focused. The picture is very
emotional as it shows a dog that can not bend his neck down
to
have some water from the pool. Seeing the strong sunlight,
Mr.
Bachchan has collected some water in his hand and given it
to
the dog. So we have followed a very emotional mood in the
picture.
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Bipasha Basu
Bipasha's photo was not entirely shot underwater but it
was
insinuated like an underwater picture. This was the picture
for which we needed the maximum amount of time because this
was the only picture for which we used visual effects. We
had
to make the hair and the dress look like it is in water so
we
consulted some underwater specialists. We also saw a lot of
underwater pictures to see how the clothes and the hair
would
react and to gauge how much distortion happens in water.
The
concept is that of an angel, or a mermaid, releasing a gold
fish into the sea. It is a bit of fantasy mixed with
*creativity.* We got bizarre ideas like showing a shark
swim
near her, but then we stuck to simplicity. The picture
looked
beautiful and did not end up looking scary or dangerous.
Bipasha generally portrays a hot and sexy image but here
she
looks angelic. Although this picture is also serene and
*Creative wins in the
longer run
sensual, Bipasha has never been seen doing an angelic
picture
like this before. That is what I like about this picture.
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John Abraham
I told John that my concept is "Water". I didn't want to
do a
body-shot of John like it has been done by others time and
again. I wanted to portray John in a way that has never
been
seen before. So I suggested we do a real tight close-up
with a
tear drop in his eye. John was skeptical in the beginning
but
I told him he was one face that would look beautiful even
with
tears in his eyes. So he went with my instinct and got the
*Killer instinct is
what we need
picture done. When I showed him the image he was totally
amazed with the lighting, the glow, the tear-drop. We had
to
do this shot a few times because we had to put glycerin in
his
eye without letting his eye go completely red. There were
lots
of shots when the tear rolled down his cheek but I liked
the
one when it just broke out from his eye. We got the shot
within fifteen minutes of shooting.
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Aishwarya Rai
For Aishwarya, we decided to go in for a black and white,
post-rainfall picture in a vintage Austin car. I briefed
her
on the concept and she pretty much liked it. You can see
water
droplets on the window and the roof of the car. It looks as
if
she rolled down the window and somebody called out to her.
Of
course we shot it in colour but when I punched it into
black
and white, it looked stunning and did more justice to the
vintage feel. Ash looked beautiful with the make-up and she
was wearing a white top anyway, so when I de-saturated the
skin tone, the black and white effect looked awesome. With
Ash
it is always a pleasure to work. She is a true delight to
work
with because she is focused and gives stunning shots every
time. It is very difficult to photograph her badly!
*And All above Consistency
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--
Gaurav