MILAN – India’s Holi festival, the narrow alleys of Old Delhi and Rajasthan’s forts serve as the cinematic and soulful backdrop to the 2027 edition of the Pirelli Calendar.
Fully unveiled on Friday in New Delhi, the 12-month spread was photographed by Sølve Sundsbø, who had shot last year’s edition, as well as by India natives Raghu Rai and Avani Rai. The former died last April and his legacy and the calendar project were carried forward by his daughter Avani.
Since 1964, the tire company has recruited celebrities and models to pose for its calendar, known also as “The Cal,” which is now in its 53rd edition.
Conceived as a dialogue between the three master photographers, each bringing their own perspective on India, the calendar is fronted by nine women tied to the country – and then some.
“India is never just one thing. It is a country where different times, traditions and realities coexist, where the ancient and the contemporary enter the same image,” said Sundsbø. “I didn’t feel I could try to represent India in all its complexity. I didn’t have the right to do so. I left Raghu and Avani Rai the task of capturing the country’s deepest essence. I chose instead to focus on portraits of extraordinary Indian women, playing with the textures of the garments, with colors and contrasts,” he said.
The nine talents lensed by Sundsbø between the Jaigarh Fort in Jaipur and the village of Ajabgarh, both located in Rajasthan, include actresses Aditi Rao Hydari and Avantika Vandanapu; actress and producer Freida Pinto; musician and composer Anoushka Shankar; poet and performer Rupi Kaur; models Lakshmi Menon and Bhavitha Mandava; author, producer and television host Padma Lakshmi, and Avani Rai herself, who doubled up as a model fronting some of the pictures.
Behind the camera, Avani Rai shot about 130 people comprising ordinary Indians, dancers, models, and artisans, as well as her mother and actor Ranveer Singh against the streets of Old Delhi and its flower market and crowded alleyways.
Before his death, Raghu Rai had contributed to the project with an inventive concept of juxtaposing images from his archives spanning over 50 years from 1965 and faces of contemporary India. Avani completed the project after his death in Mumbai and Delhi, photographing, at the same time, Raghu’s old image and the space that surrounds it today.
“My father belonged to the street. That’s why I took the idea he was working on and brought it back to the streets, among the people he had photographed all his life,” Avani explained. “I take a step back, spiritually and literally. I stand behind him,” she said.
Shot between May and September, the 2027 Pirelli Calendar includes 36 images equally split between Sundsbø’s and the Rais’ project.
Past photographers of the Pirelli Calendar have included Tim Walker; Paolo Roversi: Bryan Adams; Ethan James Green; Albert Watson, Annie Leibovitz; Peter Lindbergh; Steven Meisel; Karl Lagerfeld; Patrick Demarchelier; Inez and Vinoodh; Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot, and Richard Avedon, among many others.
The Cal has been consistently released every year since 1964 with the exception of 1967, the years between 1975 and 1983, and 2021.