Popular photographer Dabboo Ratnani, who brings out an annual calendar featuring Bollywood stars, says celebrity photo-shoots were “simpler” earlier as now “a lot” goes into their production.
Ratnani, who is co-judging the second season of “India’s Next Top Model”, says the emergence of international fashion and make-up brands and popularity of global trends has upped the game as far as celeb photo-shoots are concerned.
With a career that has spanned two decades, Ratnani said things are not “really different” for him now as compared to before.
“A lot more goes into the production of the photo-shoots now. Earlier, I used to just call the actor and they would say, ‘Tomorrow we are free, let’s do a photo shoot’. It was simpler.”
“Now we are assigned by a magazine. It is a particular job with details of ‘This is how it is supposed to be as it is for a particular reason or a look’,” Ratnani told IANS.
He has worked with the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Bipasha Basu, Arjun Rampal, Priyanka Chopra, Rani Mukerji for collectible celebrity calendars and magazine photo-shoots.
Ratnani says nowadays actors are very professional too.
He said in the past the clothes were very different.
“In older times, international stores weren’t there. That isn’t the case now. So, a lot of influence of fashion has come into the photo-shoot of the celebrities.”
“The biggest designers, even if they are international designers, they would prefer a celebrity to wear their clothes and pose on a magazine’s cover. A lot of influence from other factors like make-up, hair, international brands, etc., weren’t there in India before,” Ratnani recalled.
“All those things have changed in the photo-shoots,” he added.
Ratnani says that for women, make-up plays a bigger role.
“With a girl, whatever she is wearing, from make-up to hair, everything has to be co-ordinated to match the look. For a male, I think make-up is very much quite safe. They put really little make-up like before (old times) unless they are trying a particular look,” Ratnani said.
