The first time Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan ever stood in front of the camera was for a photoshoot with photographer Dabboo Ratnani. Roshan, then 26, had just decided he wanted to act in films, and he needed his portfolio done so he could convince his director father, Rakesh Roshan, that he had it in him.
It worked. Senior Roshan decided to cast his son in his next venture, Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai, a massive hit when it released in 2000, and turned the young Roshan into a superstar overnight.
Roshan, now 42, and Ratnani, 44, have remained close friends ever since. Over the last two decades, Ratnani has managed to make many such friends in showbiz, establishing himself as the go-to person for celebrity photography. His annual calendar, for which Roshan is a fixture, now in its 17th year, is a coveted item featuring the who’s who of Bollywood.
But celebrity, explains Ratnani, happened purely by accident.
“I was training to be a fashion photographer,” he recalls. “I was assisting another photographer in Mumbai. Those days, it was much cooler to do fashion photography and to work with models.
“Then around 1993, a friend of mine was directing his first feature film and they were going to Mauritius to shoot. The film, Aatish, starred Sanjay Dutt, Aditya Pancholi, Karishma Kapoor and Raveena Tandon. I asked if I could come along, do some promo shoots for free. The producer agreed.
“When they were promoting the film, everyone liked the photos I took. Then, one thing led to another and things started happening. It was then that I decided to quit my dad’s business and get into photography full time.”
Mutual respect
Today Ratnani considers superstars such as Shah Rukh Khan a close friend. The rapport he shares with celebrities, he says, is based on mutual respect for each other’s spaces.
“Yes, I know a lot of them but I don’t try to plug myself into everybody’s lives. I don’t want to be hanging around with them for the sake of it,” he says. “I’ve always been there for them. If they call me and say they need a picture, I do it for them. No questions asked. And I know they’ll be there for me.”
That’s why he’s never fallen out with anyone ever since he started his celebrity calendar 17 years ago, he says.
“Feedback is always good and I never take it badly. But relationships are important, too. Yes, there are times in a shoot when we look at a picture and decide to not use it at all. But I’d never put something that my subject and I don’t agree upon.”
While his name’s become synonymous with Bollywood stars, Ratnani says he likes to take on different projects. He’s currently in Dubai with his wife Manisha, also his manager, working on a photo series on dads and daughters for Delhi-based charity Khushii, which works with women and children.
“I like to mix it up. Do different things. And I love shooting outdoors in natural environments,” he says.
While he wants to keep the annual calendar going, Ratnani says he’s been offered many times to direct films, and is now seriously considering doing it.
“I’ve been thinking about it… maybe in a year or two,” he says, slightly unsure. “Expectations are going to be so high.”
He says he enjoys watching crime thrillers but his debut film will most likely be a romantic comedy or a chick flick.
“I want the look and feel to be really trendy,” he says laughing. “But whatever film I make, I’ll make them look good, that’s for sure.”
