LAUNCH: Kingfisher Swimsuit Calendar 2007

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Kingfisher Party

Kingfisher Swimsuit Calendar 2007 - The French Riviera

Most people would give anything to lay their hands on them. But these are limited edition fashion collectibles only for the chosen few. It’s the oomph factor that draws people to possess them. Skimpily clad models, actors in provocative poses and itsy bitsy costumes aimed to tease and titillate. Whoever thought a calendar was an almanac, time to do a rethink. Fashion photographers have worked their way, some almost a year in advance, scouting for locations, then getting the right bodies (faces are incidental) and props to glaze the calendar. Very soon, most of these calendars will be out. And the ones who will be ‘given’ these glossies will gloat at their self-importance and drool over these lissome lasses for months. Want to do a recce before D-day? Fashion photographer Atul Kasbekar shoots with gorgeous models for the Kingfisher Calendar, Dabboo Ratnani shoots with top slot film personalities for his personal calendar, veteran Sudhir Ramchandran is shooting with Channel-V VJs for the Channel V desktop, Jatin Kampani has taken a detour and says, “not shooting with celebs this time”. Vikram Bawa is shooting with models this time around. The calendars will be out in the New Year and whip up the cardinal sin of ‘covetousness’ in most folks. Artistically shot with oh-so-beautiful looking men and women in exotic locales, these calendars perch on desktops or drape themselves on silken walls more for their exotic value.
The first calendar shoots with buxom babes on display was seen on Pirelli calendar way back in the 1940s. That maiden effort kicked open the door for beautiful belles to showcase their assets on almanacs. Yet, India did not give in to the temptation. It has been only in the past couple of years that the country has realised the pin-up values of celebrities on calendars to further the sponsor’s brand. The fact that these calendars and desktop almanacs are not sold only adds to their mystique, thus guaranteeing its initial buzz.
Swimsuit and Kasbekar are inseparable. At least on print. Kingfisher Swimsuit Special Calendar 2007 brings locales and props that are rarely seen. This year, the shoots were done in the South of France and also on Vijay Mallya’s new 95-metre yacht, The Indian Empress. The calendar with 12 pages has six toned bodies. They are selected by Mallya out of Kasbekar’s list of beautiful bodies and are put on a high protein diet for three months before the shoot.
Ratnani is known for his shoots with Bollywood personalities. This year around, his calendar features Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham and newcomers such as Ayesha Takia, besides other young and successful glam faces. It’s a desk calendar with 24 actors gracing its pages.
Ramchandran is busy in the beaches of Goa freezing Channel V’s VJs who are cavorting to their own personal favourite songs and moves. Kampani is busy with futuristic art with models, both Indian and foreign. Bawa is incidentally the only one in the country who comes out with a black and white calendar with jewellery shoots. This year around he is doing comedy, he says, unwilling to elaborate the concept. “There are too many copycats out there and before you know it, my concept would be duplicated,” he says contemptuously.
Every year the calendars with the subjects and the camera wizardry are written about. “The hype only serves as a challenge,” says Kasbekar laughing. “This year the calendar has exceeded all expectations,” he feels, who shot for Kingfisher the fifth consecutive year. “For a start, we shot on the French Riveira and on Mallya’s super yacht. What can be more exotic than these? We got exposure and access to places and people, who most people would only have heard about, leave alone see.” The calendar has shots of the Cannes auditorium, the historic Hotel Negresco in Nice to the legendary Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild in Saint Jean-Cap-Ferrat and all for free.
Ratnani says the actors trust him with the job and that makes the going ‘easier’. “Since they work with me professionally even otherwise, the calendar shoots become a lot easier.” The calendar is a big event for the actors as well. They pose for Ratnani free of charge. “I talk to the actors and we brainstorm on the look. Each picture must tell a story. We try and create a story around the picture,” says Ratnani.
A calendar should not use models and celebrities, if they don’t match the brand. At least that is what both Ramchandran and Kampani believe. “No one should overpower the brand,” says Ramchandran. Adds Kampani, “The celeb and the brand has to be in sync. It should match the sensitivities of the brand,” he says.
The concept is the key to a calendar shoot. “It takes some time to zero in on one,” says Ramchandran, who is a veteran in the calendar shoots business having done them for over two decades. When a known face such as a film star is used, does the job become easier? Bawa says that is when it gets tough. “The filmstar must be shot and shown in a different manner and the glamour part should be underplayed.” Kampani says the challenge is to present known faces in unfamiliar settings and capture the mood. “The mood should tell a story. When I did the JW Marriott calendar last year, the feather mattress was the concept. So I put celebs across genre like Sivamani ‘drumming’ on pillows or Yuvaraj batting with a baseball bat on the bed.” With so many points to be kept in mind, it’s evident that making these calendars is not an easy task. And you thought these were about months and dates? Ah, think again.