Mumbai: Renowned celebrity photographer Dabboo Ratnani has shared some behind-the-scenes anecdotes from his long association with superstar Shah Rukh Khan, revealing that nearly 90 per cent of their photoshoots were conducted at his home, Mannat.
Ratnani shared the details on filmmaker-actress Pooja Bhatt’s podcast. During the conversation, the celebrated photographer recalled how SRK’s candid moments often resulted in his most memorable photographs.
Pooja told Ratnani: “You’ve really made Shah Rukh look very sexy. There’s something that he sheds with you.”
To which the photographer revealed: “With Shah Rukh, I’ve done 90% of my shoots in his house.”
He recalled how Shah Rukh once visited his studio, The actor was busy playing with his pet dog, Flash. Instead of asking him to pose, the photographer captured those natural moments, letting the superstar enjoy himself rather than consciously posing for the camera.
“When he came to my studio in Oshiwara, he was playing with Flash, with my doggy. And I took pictures of that. So he started enjoying that moment rather than posing for a picture. During his phases of whatever look he was in, I used to pull out a concept as per that,” said Ratnani.
He recalled how he was by a chance encounter at a tyre shop that led to a unique set built with 200 used tyres.
“For instance, I was literally getting my tyre change done at the tyre shop. And there was a guy who was chucking these used tyres into a tempo. I said, wow, man, what a backdrop. And I contacted the tyre shop and got those 200 tyres to Mehboob studio, created that whole set with those ripped tyres and everything and did that shot.”
Ratnani is popular for his annual calendar, which has 24 celebrities each year. He has closely worked with names such as Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Bipasha Basu, Arjun Rampal, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan for his calendar.