Every new year, the industry prepares itself for the launch of celebrity calendars from some of the most talented photographers of India. The launch is a gala event and fans hold their breathes to witness their favorite celeb in yet another creative avatar. However, are all these photographers really worth the scream and shout? Well, we don’t know about all of them but we can mention one artist's name who definitely needs to rethink his artistic expressions. He is none other than the most talked about photographer of tinsel town, Daboo Ratnani.

He’s a known name within the industry and its fans, and every year the launch of his celebrity calendar seems to be the most awaited event of the New Year. 48 of the top celebs endorse him, and perhaps that may be the reason behind his diminishing talent. BollySpice now brings you an exposé on Daboo Ratnani. Is he really all that special and worth all the scream and shout? Read on to find out.

Call it copying or call it being inspired, all we know is there seems to be one too many shots by the photographer which have an exact counterpart in the west.



We’re sure you’ve come across this one earlier. A total replica indeed. From colours, to shoes, to location, Daboo couldn’t put even an ounce of originality in this shot.

Following the trend of recreating existing shots (in other words, copying existing shots) last year’s calendar featured the hot and happening Ranbir Kapoor who turned out to be competing against the even more hot and happening Angelina Jolie. Ranbirs’s shot was a direct replica of a still from James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie starrer Wanted.



But wait that’s not all. The next shot seems to be an absolute cut-and-paste job. Sean Penn and our very own Riteish Deshmukh went against each other in this shot, which for certain is a cut and paste job because of the all too perfect replica of the surrounding. Even the puddles on the ground seem to be same shape, as is the dirt on the road. Now now Daboo, we’re not all that blind!



There are still more praises of this amazing artist to go. It seems that he is talented as a digital artist too. The next shot has been super imposed, perhaps through the use of Photoshop.



The shot was originally taken by Daboo at a photo shoot in a studio with Mickey Contractor as the makeup artist, however perhaps Daboo wasn’t able to rebook Ash hence he felt the need to use an existing shot of her and Photoshop it into a surrounding that matched his theme. He conveniently forgot to mention to the press about this amazing Photoshop talent of his.

Last but not the least, Daboo seems to either have an obsession with cars or a lack of location. The collage below brings together the various photo shoots he has done with cars for his calenders in the last few years. It really does seem that his creativity is being drained out because when you place them all together, you really do start to see the lack of innovation in the shots.



Well it seems that this photographer really isn’t worth the scream and shout. A while back Daboo mentioned in his launch speech that what makes his calendar unique is that it combines 48 of the biggest names of the industry. Well, all we’d like to suggest to Daboo is that perhaps he should spend less time trying to get together big names and more time compiling original and innovative shots. Not to mention that word will spread of his not so innovative shots, and we bet that getting those top 48 names for his calendar will become a very tough job for him! We wait for the day when the hue and cry behind your shots is at last justified.