Dabboo Ratnani captures Indian icon Sridevi.
I must reluctantly file a minor grievance; creatively, its a boring shot.
In the early 1990s, Dabboo Ratnani was one of the first few creative geniuses who changed the game when it came to film photography. He experimented with light, texture, brought a Western aesthetic to Indian stars, the images he created of Pooja Bhatt, Sanjay Dutt, Sunil Shetty, - eventually Madhuri Dixit and other celebs, they were staggeringly beautiful and creative.
While his portfolio was being built as his star continued to rise, Sridevi was slowly inching away from the industry and he never captured her until she came back to the industry after her hiatus.
By then, Dabbs was part of the establishment. Many of the shots quite frankly phoned in. Its always good, pleasant, nice... but the wow factor has been missing for a while.
On occasion you finds bright sparks, especially when he makes the iconic calendar (another whine--he never featured Sridevi or Rekha), It became such a touchstone, you weren't really a pan Indian celebrity unless or until you were featured in his coveted annual calendar. Aishwarya Rai, Hrithik Roshan, his two favourites, were featured regularly, the Bachchans more often than not, and a handful of young stars who shed their inhibitions and clothes for the cam.
Samson lost his powers when his hair was cut, Dabs when he lost his tubs, the more weight he lost, the less powerful his portraits became! You can't unsee it now can you?! ;0)
Well, currently only one person has a collection of rare pictures of Sridevi that we covet more than anyone else; Rakesh Shreshta. We've been begging him to do a book for 8 years now. A light at the end of the tunnel... More on that later.
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