GLAM MAXIM SHOOT IN ALIBAUG

As is usual for me on an early morning shoot I have barely slept a wink. Knowing I would have to get up @ 4:30 a.m. only to drive an hour to Colaba from Bandra... anxiety kept me vigilant all night long. 48 hours ago when I was stuffing MacDonald down my face on my way back from the beautiful opening of Olive Pune by my good friend restaurateur AD Singh. And then my agency Elan @CAAKwan informed me that I had been selected to do the Maxim Calendar shoot!! With the initial joy that erupted magnanimously it dawned on me like a slap in the face that I had just spent the past week on holiday eating like it was going out of fashion! I took one look at my ever so bashfully protruding stomach and one look @ my half eaten MacDonald Aloo Tikki Burger and went into panic mode!

 

My BFF Shibani Dandekar, sitting next to me in the car, first burst out laughing and then spent the rest of the car ride home convincing me that it was a great thing and that I had a fabulous body and should definitely do this shoot and rock it! If it wasn't for her and my brilliant booker Shazia, I would have run away screaming! The Maxim Calendar gets sent to everyone in the industry and it's quite a big deal. I knew I couldn't pass up this opportunity and I also knew I needed to make sure I looked as decent if not better than the other 11 girls shooting. The next 48 hours were spent on nothing but water and salad. I was starviiing. I wasn't starving myself... I was eating but after spending all week pigging out... it felt like I was starving! They were the longest 48 hours ever.

 

So here I am now on a very rocky boat... still starving, sleep deprived and now freezing but so very excited for the day to begin. There is something magical about getting up before the sun does. We reached Alibaug (our port of destination) only to have to drive one hour more to reach the magnificent resort. I was traveling with our very talented sweetheart of a stylist Louw... our focused yet chilled photographer Ashish Shah... fabulous make-up artist, Liz and four very sleepy models. When we reached, met by a swarm of mosquitoes, the incredible beauty that surrounded us dissipated any lingering sleep. This was Tarun Tahiliani's cousin's yoga retreat that had graciously been given to us for the day. Our Stylist Louw works as an exclusive stylist for Tarun and had spent Diwali in this serene abode.

 

Breakfast was soon served with an abundance of courtesy and we started with our fittings. My oh my, 48 hours of starvation later, we glimpse upon the collection of couture swimwear worn by the likes of Rihanna, Katie Perry and Niki Minaj. Worth the stomach pangs indeed! I am giddy with excitement (or is that hunger) when I see Shane and Falguni's creations with a few vintage Rohit Bal thrown in the mix. I am thrilled to be wearing a black and cream fringed Shane and Falguni one-piece leotard as well as a neck-to-floor cream Rohit Bal cape. The other girls look beautiful. Usually there are always one or two pieces in a fitting that no one wants to wear but in this collection every piece is HOT. Louw has done exceedingly well and he matches everyone's strengths and personalities to perfection.

 

Liz our make-up artist from South Africa and a friend of Louw's works wonders. She concentrates on powerful 1960's cat0like winged eyes and barely a hint of make-up! That's what I LOVE about International artists: they prefer natural looking girls and not Bollywood style caked on make-up! No make-up always trumps caked make-up, remember that!! Prepped and ready, we are more than thawed out from the morning chill as it is now a blistering 30-plus on the beach. As we walk in our skimpy outfits towards the ocean a group of young local boys gather around for entertainment. Trying to concentrate as boys leer and jeer is a feat unto itself. So is trying to keep your eyes open with the sun blaring. The photographer asks me to walk as he clicks from down below. The shoot takes 20mins max and the next girl is sent in. With my second change for the day post a lovely vegetarian lunch that I eat like I'm inhaling oxygen... I am more relaxed and feeling playful.

 

The shoot begins and this time it's inside the water. I have my knees firmly in the sand while the waves lap vigorously around me. Louw is slightly tense at the sight of the outfit getting wetter and wetter. I'm trying hard to balance on my knees as the waves crash. How I wish I could sit on the surface and enjoy the warmth of the water. I'm really enjoying this experience and want to keep shooting as long as I can! My shoot gets over by 3 p.m. but unfortunately I have to wait for the others to finish before I can leave. We all leave around 6:30 p.m. in a very shaky rickshaw that takes one hour, a freezing boat that takes a further one hour and then Colaba to Bandra in a taxi that takes over an hour! Exhausted... what a Christmas Eve! I'm back @ 9:30 p.m. just in time for Christmas midnight mass and I have so much to be grateful for!

 

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