I’ve said this before, if Bollywood is a circus of star performers, then Dabboo Ratnani is its flamboyant ringmaster. With his Nikon and Leica cameras, the celebrated photographer coaxes the stars into doing what no film director has demanded of them. He brings out an unabashedly whacky side in them that he captures on his annual calendar in classy black-and-white freeze frames or screaming colour stills. Dabboo’s being doing this with increasing popularity for 18 years. His 2018 calendar is being launched by Amitabh Bachchan in Mumbai today with the glitz and glamour reserved for premiere shows of big banner, multi-star Bollywood films. The industry’s leading lights will be there to admire the blow-ups of themselves plucked out of The Dabboo Ratnani Calendar and put up on the wall. Here’s how the star photographer goes about the calendar each year. Excerpts from an interview…

"In this digital age, it is possible to see the results immediately. Earlier, when pictures had to be printed, it would take ages."

Q.How do you decide who goes in your calendar? On their current popularity? Their success at the box office? What films they have in hand the next year?

A. None of all that! I have a list of 20 constants… these are the stars I work with a lot and share a great rapport with. They will go the extra mile and enjoy working with me. They take me as a friend and will do what I want with no questions asked. I’ve used some of them every year from my first calendar in 2000. It’s amazing, all of them remember every calendar they have done and they look forward to doing it again. It’s like a tradition. But I also get in newcomers, change one or two names for variety, the others know when it’s December – then Dabboo Ratnani will call!

Q.This isn’t a commercial venture...

A. No, this isn’t a commercial venture. And the stars appreciate the fact that I don’t misuse the calendar. I’m doing it only for my creative satisfaction. Pushing the envelope, looking at how I’ve shot them in the last 17 years and seeing what I can do that I haven’t done before, excites me.

Q.Who comes up with the themes for each picture?

A. I do the conceptualizing. For 24 pictures I think of 100 concepts. I then e-mail each actor three or four ideas. These are ideas that suit their personalities. There’s a lot of back and forth. Whatever excites them the most, they go for. They are all very experimental. A lot of them say, “Let’s do something crazy!” There’s no limit to what you can do in this space. I’m the boss of this show. I can do what I want. And for the calendar, I do 24 different shots. This is not one theme. A thematic calendar binds you. Here each picture tells its own story.

Q. Who is it easier shooting, the men or women?

A. Shooting the men is quicker. Not easier. The men come ready with their own clothes. Make-up takes 15 minutes. The shot is done in 10 minutes. With the women, everything from the clothes to the make-up, hair, and styling takes time. I do one shoot a day. But I’ve also done four shoots a day. That’s when many stars wake up suddenly and say we must shoot today! They come with anticipation and are eager to see the pictures. In this digital age, it is possible to see the results immediately. Earlier, when pictures had to be printed, it would take ages. But their excitement keeps me going. It’s always like I’m doing my first calendar.

"The calendar became a good way to show off my portfolio year after year and how I had evolved as a photographer."

Q.Who’s been the most bindaasso to say?

A. Bindaas, all of them are! But Mr. Bachchan has been more experimental than most. I’ve put him in an autorickshaw, in a barber’s saloon, on a luggage trolley; I’ve shot him in the street. Even Shah Rukh Khan. They are the biggest actors but they have confidence in me. I tell them what I want. I think they appreciate the creativity and variation I bring to the shoot each time. “Let’s do it,” is all they say.

Q.You vary between colour and black-and-white…

A. I think artistic and creative people go through phases. I usually dress up very funky and colourfully myself. I have so many brightly coloured shirts in my wardrobe. And the phase I’m going through reflects in the calendar.

Q. Why do you do the calendar?

A. I did the first one in 2000. Everybody was talking about the new Millennium, about Y2K, remember, and I thought what better way to bring in the Millennium than by producing a calendar. I put together 12 stock pictures and printed 1,000 calendars. It was to be my New Year gift to Bollywood. I had just started out as a photographer. The response I got encouraged me to consider a second calendar for 2001. But this time, I shot 24 pictures. No stock images. The reaction I got was crazy. The calendar became a trend from then. In a way, it’s generated work for me. People have access to the calendar; it’s there on their desk, a constant reminder. And over the years the calendar has been a blackboard for me. In the initial years there was no social media to showcase my work. The calendar became a good way to show off my portfolio year after year and how I had evolved as a photographer.

Q. How many copies do you make?

A. I print 5,000 copies, there are so many clients, associates, film stars, media people to give it to, and people expect it every year. Though it’s been a big investment, from shooting to printing and couriering the calendar, I must say it has also generated work for me. It also keeps me fired up, the whole year I’m thinking what to do next, I write down ideas, make notes of locations I’ve seen, the calendar’s a process of growing and evolving for me.

Q. The launch of the calendar is a big and important date in Bollywood.

A. It’s the people that make the party big. It gets spoken about a lot. But I invite only about 300. Of these, 20 are close friends who come genuinely for me. A huge number of people come to see the stars. And the stars come to support me.