Sahil Shroff: The brains behind the brawns

Published in Mega Modelz magazine – June-July 2009 Issue – © Manali

As those lats spread wide and the abs glisten as if they have been carved in stone, he walks down the aisle. It feels as if a Greek God has briefly condescended to stride among the mortals… You can almost hear the hearts beating faster. That’s the kind of spark, magic and aura this dangerously handsome super model Sahil Shroff carries on him! It’s not everyday that this hottest thing reveals his health and fitness secrets… Mesmerized Manali H. Shah is all ears, as she meticulously records every word he tales…

With his drop dead chiseled looks and playful grin, Sahil Shroff holds a pledge of sinful things and much more as he effortlessly continues to impress young girls and women alike with his famous stints in commercials like Tata Indica’s ‘Dumb, Dumb, Dumb’ and Lux ad with the gorgeous Aishwarya Rai, Cadbury Éclairs, HCL, Snickers amongst several others. No wonder, this 6 foot clothed horse is convincingly hot favourite of all the B town designers. Be it scorching the ramp for the IPL show with Shahrukh Khan or My Mumbai with Naomi Campbell, he has possibly walked the ramp for all of them in most of the fashion weeks. He has been there, done that, literally. And once again, he is all set to sputter the small screen with his two new commercials coming up on air soon! Clearly Sahil Shroff is the number 1 male model in the country today.

Amid such a busy schedule, how does he manage to maintain an incredible body like his? And the answer comes straight, “I love fitness. I have been training since a very long time now. Infact, I am pretty much evolved in my fitness,” he says. Unlike many, Sahil has a long history of training and today he is not only involved in grueling workouts, but he is equally indulging himself in running, strength training, jumping, swimming, Taekwondo and several other sports. “I never miss on my workouts, be it in any form. It allows me to easily stay in shape and moreover it’s a part of my profession now.” He continues, “I do Taekwondo 3 times a week, go to gym twice a week, go for a long run at Mahalaxmi race course during the weekends and I also like to swim, at least once a week. I thoroughly enjoy and love all of it,” he says.

I ask him to throw more light on Taekwondo and he says, “I go to Javed Khan’s Taekwondo School where I have a personal trainer. In my opinion, this form of Martial Arts is not something you get up one morning and head for. One needs to have a proper mindset to start this as it involves a lot of stretching, kicking, punching and the like. Besides, I completely enjoy the flexibility aspect and every nuance of this art.” Another nugget, “I personally adore action and I am eventually getting into films too. It is surely very hard, but at the end of the day, it’s a lot of fun too.” He feels everybody should try this kind of art at some point in their life.

So like most of the models in this tinsel town, is he neurotic about having that 6 or 8 pack abs as well? He answers with the same vigor, “Oh totally! I have always had 6 pack abs and that’s a part of me now. But its not my only pride and joy, as at the same time I also maintain my body weight proportionally and this matters a lot. I have a very good upper body, nice muscular and strong leg and that’s only because I focus on balancing everything.” Sahil has practically been working out all his life. Apart from being a very active sportsperson in his school days, he also used to workout dedicatedly in Australia, where he pursued his masters in IT. “Oh, Australians are very serious about their workouts and fitness,” he muses aloud.

Isn’t it difficult to manage this kind of workout schedule while on shoot? “Not at all. Its simple infact. When I am traveling or shooting at work, I always have a skipping rope… and my running shoes are my savior. Like when I was shooting two days ago, an hour prior to the scheduled shoot timing, I went running for about 45 minutes. You feel a million dollars and you feel fresh,” he validates. So what about the food? He shrugs his shoulders and says, “Finding my kind of food becomes tough but I am figuring out how to find my way. I believe in cleansing off the system, so I try and make sure to have a lot of fruit and salads around me and continuously eat these all the time. The energy stays and it makes me feel up.”

Talking of food, Sahil is equally particular about it and follows a strict diet on most of the days. “My diet is very good, well balanced and high on nutritional value. In the morning, for breakfast I have 3 vegetable juice that could be a mixture of Carrot, Cucumber and  Indian gooseberry (amla) and that is later followed by 3 or 4 fruits, bowl of oatmeal with dry fruits and a cup of coffee. For brunch, I like to have a banana or snack on muesli bar.” He continues in same saga, “Whereas, my lunch includes 2 rotis, a little bit of rice with mutton and fish and 2 vegetables, everything cooked in very less olive oil. Yoghurt is very important for me everyday. Then again around 4pm or so I have a fruit or 1 or 2 cereal biscuits which is followed by evening work out. Later, the dinner is healthy again, but very light. Here its compete no no to chapatti and rice. I only have vegetables and dal, accompanied with a very nice vegetable soup and a big salad. All in all it’s a good 5-6 meal course a day and that’s enough for me I think,” he smiles nonchalantly.

With his kind of workout, he feels, it is very important to eat every two hours. “I am always eating. In Taekwondo you need to have a lot of energy and you just can ‘not’ eat.” Nevertheless, there are times when Sahil does enjoy going easy with his diet. “I do like to binge on sweets and chocolates sometimes but I am generally in control of what I eat. Like if I am not shooting, I do enjoy my food with a little more liberty, however, the next day I do put in that extra hard work and cut down on my diet too.” He continues, “I don’t spoil myself much nowadays and I have substantially cut down on sweets too, as it takes too much stress on body to burn it off again. Hence, it’s not a priority anymore.” According to him, his metabolic rate is very good and this leaves him feeling gleefully good and strong most of the times.

This hot model is also involved in a lot of other activities when he is not working out or shooting. “I participate in a lot of creative workshops. I like working on my diction, speech and voice modulation. Other then this, I like to backpack and travel around the world,” he says. Predictably, his next step is to storm into bollywood too… but, with a big bang! So, when does this happen? “By God’s grace, hopefully soon. Though I feel it’s a slow and steady process… which I am enjoying. Everything good that happens doesn’t happen quickly. At the end of the day, you need to have luck on your side too. And you exactly know when is the right time for you…” he philosophies.

With this, I swiftly graduate towards his personal life and ask the obvious. And there is a moment of silence before he finally decides to be asked for next question! But I insist on him to share some bit of the heat… and he comes with his tongue firmly placed in cheek. “Oh, I have a very good personal life. Beyond that I am not allowed to talk. Ha ha ha,” he laughs, almost enjoying the sadistic pleasure. I sustain nonetheless. A little more push… and he finally gives up! “Well, okay. I used to be a naughty boy but I am a good and sweet boy now! Everything is very good and rosy though I continue to be one fun loving guy who is always up for adventure,” he cackles incessantly. Ahem, what can we say… More energy to you boy!

Sahil lists down ‘5 must have tips’ for great heath and good body

(i) If you are a vegetarian, eat anything that is natural. But make sure you have a lot of dal.

(ii)And if you are a non vegetarian, make sure you have ‘good quality’ of fish and meat.

(iii) Drink a lot of water, its indispensable.

(iv) Go hard or go home! Unfortunately, everyone in this space trains very softly. If you work hark, work your brain hard and do not work your body hard, what’s the point! One needs to train very hard to get good results. It’s quintessential.

(v) If you workout at gym, give your 100 percent and take your training seriously. It will help you stay strong, both mentally and physically without any injuries, illness or back problem. The feel good factor is fantastic and simply worth it!

Bollywood’s Beloved – Dabboo Ratnani

Published in Mega Modelz magazine – June-July 2009 Issue – © Manali

In the shadow of his own legacy, he has given celebrity photography a whole new meaning. Every picture he clicks becomes an extravaganza in itself. His forte of delivering on a consistent note, years after years is a longing dream for many others. Never bowing down to any commercial diktats, he has won laurels of gold. His success story truly warms the cockles of many hearts. Manali H. Shah traces down the trails and tribulations of the Bollywood’s beloved legendary photographer. Dabboo Ratnani comes undone!

Photos courtesy: Dabboo Ratnani page

After thrashing that little bit of oblivious anxiety, I finally fix my index finger on the doorbell and ring it. Within less than 15 seconds, the door springs open… and I see the maverick man himself. Fairly built, dressed in a traditional chaste white kurta-pajama, he already emanates an air of easy amiability.

Smilingly, he leads me towards the drawing room couch. The room looks white, clean and serene, very unlike a celebrity photographer’s residence. On the other side, I notice two desktop machines interfused on a huge glass table. For photography technicalities, I assume. By then, a young girl, apparently in her mid 20’s, walks in and offers me a glass of water… and I hear him asking me if I would like tea, coffee, juice or anything. I deny, politely. So finally here we are, I smile.

Many people consider his job to be one of the best on earth. Tell him and he thrills, “It’s great to be a celebrityphotographer, it feels really superb and I thoroughly enjoy my job.” In hindsight, he thinks most people have a misconception that being around bollywood stars and clicking their pictures all the time is an obstinately glamorous life. But it’s not as simple and glittery as it looks. He explains, “Like any other profession, there is a lot of pressure involved in this job too. You are dealing with high celebrities here and you simply cannot afford to go wrong. These stars come very time-pressed and each day of theirs is very precious. So within that short period of time they to do the manage shoot, you need to deliver great results.”

Does that mean these stars are quite finicky? “Most stars are not fussy. But they obviously want to look good. They trust you and that’s why they shoot with you. You also got to be capable enough to take care of screwball scenarios that may unpredictably occur in any shoot. So basically, that one picture people see on the magazine cover comes out after clicking hundred’s of them. It’s definitely challenging,” he affirms.

This means that he turns into a different person once behind the camera? He shakes his head. “No. I am as I am, very easy and relaxed. I have been in this industry for 15 years, so my rapport with most of the stars is quite honky-dory and they know my personality. I am a patient person who doesn’t express. But when it comes to work, I am a rather fast photographer who shoots in lightening speed instead of pretending to do that extra work… and that’s what they like about me. They know if they are shooting with Dabboo, its going to get over within 2-3 hours and not go till elongated 10 hours, and of course they know that they are looking good too.”

Unlike most peers of his ilk, Dabboo is not very rigid about having a firm plan for each shoot. “It actually depends on the nature of the shoot. Like for a magazine’s regular fun shoot, you have the liberty to try different things and that’s where you can afford to go impromptu. Otherwise for print campaigns and publicity, it’s a different ball game altogether.” Talking about peers, I prod him to name those photographers whom he considers to be a competition and he minuses, “Everybody has their own style in photography. Even if anybody is number one in the pile of 1 to 10, it doesn’t matter. All that counts for me is the amount and quality of work I do. I am shooting at least 25 days a month and I cannot physically shoot more than that. Though I don’t complain if someone is doing more work than me.”

Warming the topic, he further stances, “If the competitor is doing more work or as much work, even if I had a choice, I cannot do his share of work. It’s immature to consider competition as a threat, because for me, I am very self-satisfied with what I am doing. I don’t believe in undercutting or badmouthing anybody to get work. There is enough work for everybody in the industry. Particularly this over-hyped recession gaga, it just doesn’t bother me at all. Incase if there is no work, I get that time to spend with my family.” Waxing eloquent, he indeed admires work of his colleagues and ace photographers like Prabhudas Gupta, Farook Chotia and Bharat. Amongst the international sheen, he really enjoys the work of the Spanish pro photographer Sante D’orazio, Hollywood’s favourite Herb Ritts and the like.

Born and brought up in Mumbai, Dabboo worked with his dad at their Bombay Dying shop until he turned 17 anddecided to build his career in photography. “During my school days, I actually used to be selling bed sheets, shirts and stuff like that. It was a very basic and boring mundane where I never got the job satisfaction,” he says with candour and also reveals that he has always been a gismo guy since his childhood. “Once there was this new music system my dad bought and I opened the screws in-and-out to understand the system’s functionality,” he guffaws heartily and continues, “And one fine day I found a good-looking camera in my dad’s cupboard. I slid that and started experimenting instantly. Progressively, I started shooting sunset, people and things around me and I completely loved it. And since then I was very much clear that this is what I wanted to do in life.”

Interestingly, he bought his first camera from his brother who was an aspiring photographer then. “It was a semi professional camera,” he muses. Dabboo started clicking pictures for his friends, did some college AV’s, all working in his favour, and that’s when he finally decided to assist some photographer. “I was doing my commerce and after completing 12^th grade, I decided go for correspondence over regular college and use that time to assist photographer Sumeet Chopra, an ex Brooks Institute student himself.”

So did he ever attend a photography school? “I did not go abroad to study photography because it was very expensive,” he says in a humble tone. Conversely, Sumeet Chopra suggested him to spend those three years with him. “Doing that, you are learning on the job and actually interacting with clients and models. Also, you make a lot of contacts and meet the crème people from the industry. I feel it’s very important to learn the business along with learning the art and technicality of photography. Besides, I had thought to myself that if three years of assisting doesn’t guide me to my photography, I would go back to my dad’s Bombay dying business.” And as fate had it, there was absolutely no looking back for this magnum opus prodigy.

Nonetheless, he did have his share of knocking quite a few doors before landing a foothold. His first commercial shoot was for a film called Aatish that was shot in Mauritius, way back in 1993. “It was director Sanjay Gupta’s first film as well. Being a very close friend of mine, I told him to take me along and offered him to shoot the campaign free. I just asked to get paid for the travel, stay and material cost. It was a 40 days shoot and my first time abroad. We really did some good work and also partied harder… Certainly, it was a very memorable one. Infact, one shot of Sanjay Dutt fishing, is amongst my all time favourites…” he mutters in a nostalgic tone.

The movie starred Raveena Tondon, Karishma Kapoor, Aditya Pancholi, Atul Agnihotri and of course Sanjay Dutt. No wonder, the film forked a trail towards his ambition and this indisputably became a turning point in his life. “Seeing my pictures on huge billboards and hoardings, numerous magazines and newspapers for the first time was such a great high. People noticed and liked my work and this automatically snowballed into getting myself a stronger grounding in this field. That’s when I decided to branch out from assisting and start on my own…” The rest, like they say, is history.

With the number of nascent photographers basking out from every nook and corner of the country today, is he ever concerned about failure? He promptly retaliates, “No. It really doesn’t bother me. For me, consistency is very important and year after year you got to deliver good work. It’s an art; it has to be within you, something that has to be in your bloodstream. For me photography is… well… let’s just say I breathe photography. Even if I walk into a party or a restaurant, I keep looking at the location and I think if I could do a photoshoot here. It’s just that I am a complete ad infinitum when it comes to photography.” Now that’s a numbero uno!

So what is his all time favourite ideal photoshoot like? “My passion lies in my annual calendar that I have beenpublishing since a decade now. Its one thing that I enjoy shooting a lot, because there I am shooting only for myself. No client, no agency… it’s only me.” The passion for calendar comes naturally to him because he ropes in those actors with whom he has worked all through the years, hence it gets very awe-inspiring for both the parties.

Especially the 2009 edition of the calendar with 48 actors that became quite a hit has still left most of us flabbergasted. Wonder how did he make it happen? “Because it was 10^th anniversary of my calendar, it had to be special. Also the fact that a calendar has a desk value and it lies in front of your face for the whole year, unlike a magazine. Thus, I started conceptualizing in April itself and went on floor in August. The plan did take a little longer because this time it was 48 actors and not the trademark 24. I went about doing meetings with the celebrities for theme briefing, sharing ideas, getting inputs. Happily, most of the actors were as excited and passionate about the picture and calendar as I was.” This annual calendar releases on 23^rd December of every year. “It happens to be both, me and my wife Manisha’s birthday,” he gushes.

How does Dabboo decide a theme for his calendars? He parries on this one and remarks, “Any theme that does not restrict creativity and variety works for me. For instance, Water was my theme in the 2007 edition. Here, water can be seen as an element in your glass, in the sea, in the fish tank, as a tear, a drop and likewise, so this doesn’t confine me. Although, personally I am not very adamant about themes, because then themes become the hero when photography is what I am trying to project.” Well said. So, what does he plan for 2010 calendar? “Nothing is planned as yet. Probably a theme this time but definitely not nature or anything, but some theme bound calendar for a change to 2009.”

Reports of him being keen on doing a retro calendar with legendary artists made rounds sometime ago. True? He clarifies, “I was actually thinking it to do as an exhibition rather than a calendar, because I don’t know how much I would be able to create as to people watching them for 1 month every page. Besides, the earlier actors and actresses I guess wouldn’t relate to an avant-garde calendar. I don’t know, it is just one of the thoughts. May be I will do it in a couple of years down the line…” Considered.

One thing that truly differentiates Dabboo’s pet project from other calendar is that no photographer has ever featured power-list of 24 or 48 actors ever. “Yes, I am not paying any celebrity to feature in my calendar. My calendar doesn’t advertise or sell anything, there is no money involved and I am not trying to generate any revenue. It’s a completely noncommercial activity that is based on rapport I share with them. It’s pure passion and love for art!”

But aren’t all the fans based far and wide complaining of the unavailability of the limited edition calendar? “I guess so. From the amount of emails I receive from people in Jan-Feb especially, asking where they could purchase the calendar from, is truly gratifying. But how many people can I cater to? I keep it limited edition for a simple reason that I pay for the whole calendar and don’t make money out of it. Hence, I cannot have unlimited pieces. My calendars are usually for my family and friends and people from the media, advertising agencies, film fraternity and other clients that I work with. It’s on its own is quite large and my database consists of around 4000 people.” But the infamous photographer confirms that the day he decides to commercialise the calendar, he will give actors a royalty too. He sallies, “If I can sell millions of pieces than I can certainly afford to pay the actors! I don’t want to make money out of it, but would definitely want people who are featured in it to gain something.”

Further, I ask him about his take on the divergence between shooting celebrities and models? “Honestly, it’s not very different. Be it an actor or a model, I have to make both of them look good. The foremost difference in shooting a model and an actor is that the look completely alters, like the clothes you make them wear and their styling, make up and hair. However, there are times when actors want to look like models and vice versa. It’s all essentially intermingled.”

What about the newcomers? They surely would get goose-bumps shooting with him for the first time. “I usually ease them out. I have a couple of meetings with them before the scheduled shoot. I talk to them, tell them how I see and visualize them and give them tips too. Usually when I meet a person, I kind of figure out how I should be shooting him/her.” With his clout many first-timers would doubt his approachability, but he certainly is very down to earth and an easy person to talk to. “The name Dabboo Ratnani does sound as if he is standoffish, but it’s not like that. I like to meet people and especially when my name is attached to the pictures, I totally want to do justice to them. I make it a point that every picture that goes out from my studio is a great picture. So whether it’s a newcomer or an established actor, it doesn’t matter as I always take a keen interest,” he says, truly like a pin-up photographer.

Dabboo Ratnani with wife Manisha D. Ratnani and the gorgeous actress Esha Deol

Dabboo’s recent work campaign includes the new season of 10 Ka Dum with Salman Khan, Provogue, Dabur with Preity Zinta, a Belmonte campaign with Shahrukh Khan, D’damas jewellery with Amitabh Bachchan, Idea with Abhishek Bachchan including the latest campaign for IPL too. Not only print, Dabboo has also clicked for hit flicks like Welcome, Hello, Dostana and the yet-to-release films like My name is Khan and Wake up Sid. Dabboo works are internationally acclaimed too as he regularly shoots for Australian and German based magazines and other overseas clients in Dubai. “I like travelling for work, but I will never leave this city and relocate anywhere else for sure,” he smiles.

So any wise words for the enthusiastic photographers out there who aspire to what he has achieved? “Don’t get into it only for the glamour quotient. Main thing is to have passion for photography. You have to have the fire, the excitement and the complete job satisfaction should be there, irrespective of shooting a portfolio or doing a big banner campaign. The enthusiasm level should prevail. And the day you don’t feel this way, might as well call it quits.” He further digs, “Make use of Photoshop, but as a photo correction contrivance and not as a manipulating tool. That’s not the essence of true photography.”

Turning the focus away from photography to personal and interesting grounds, Dabboo enjoys music when he is not working, “I love music and I have collection of about 4000 CD’s.” Any particular genre he is favourable to? “It actually depends on the mood. I like to listen to everything, from Hindi and Arabic to House, Lounge and Rock. It keeps changing with time.” This endearing photographer has been married for nearly 5 years now and has a 2 months baby girl. “Her name is Deeva and she is very adorable,” he beams.

My curiously meter goes up and as a parting shot I ask him about his wife. “Manisha works with me. Everything from production to finance is taken care of by her. I just do the photography bit.” The photographer who had a love-cum-arrange marriage likes to spend quality time with his family whenever time permits, take his dog out for a walk, go out for splendid dinners and drives. Truly, Dabboo is a radical in his own subtle way!