Dimple was no more than 16 or 17 at the time and gorgeous. I wanted to do a session with her. With Dimple having seen my photographs of Neetu, the feeling was mutual. It turned out to be a memorable shoot...Like a jugalbandi. We were so completely in sync. I’d worked with scores of newcomers as well as professional models. Dimple outpaced all of them. She was born to face the camera...

As soon as the first shoot was over, we planned the next one. At Mumbai’s National Park. I arranged the clothes and drove down with Dimple. En route she was touching up her make-up when suddenly she turned to me and said, “Will you light me a cigarette?” Her request took me by surprise because back in the ’70s our heroines didn’t smoke openly. But not for Dimple such subterfuges. She was completely bindaas and I loved her for it. People have raved about her auburn-tinted mane, her brandy eyes, her graceful legs, her classic features. But for me it was her attitude...her honesty and openess...that made Dimple unforgettable.

Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan
TERRIFIC TRIO
This photograph was taken on the sets of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. These things cannot be made to happen, they just happen. And when they do, you should be around to record it. I was. Amitabh Bachchan was a legend by then. Shah Rukh (Khan) was at his peak. And Hrithik (Roshan) post-Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai was just coming up. As I saw the trio together, I thought this was a moment that needed to be recorded because it showed how succession passes on, from one generation to the next.

Madhuri Dixit
MALLEABLE MUSE
Every photographer has a muse. Mine is Madhuri Dixit. Many people including Pritish Nandy insist that I made Madhuri. I don’t agree. What Micky (make-up whiz Mickey Contractor) and I did was dress Madhuri up a bit. She was one of my best students. She was like malleable clay who could be moulded to take on the look and character of a photographer’s fantasies.