Pirelli’s First India Calendar Puts Women Across Arts And Culture On Centerstage

Photo: Alessandro Scotti/Pirelli

India-West News Desk

NEW DELHI – The 2027 Pirelli Calendar places nine accomplished women with deep ties to India at the center of its first-ever edition photographed entirely in the country, celebrating individual identity rather than presenting a single narrative of India.

Photographed by Norwegian fashion photographer Sølve Sundsbø, the calendar features actresses Freida Pinto, Aditi Rao Hydari and Avantika Vandanapu; musician Anoushka Shankar; poet Rupi Kaur; television personality and author Padma Lakshmi; models Lakshmi Menon and Bhavitha Mandava; and photographer Avani Rai.

Shot at Rajasthan’s Jaigarh Fort and in Ajabgarh village, the portraits present each woman as an individual rather than a symbol of the nation, with each image reflecting a distinct personal story.

Model Bhavitha Mandava, was the first Indian woman to open Chanel’s Métiers d’Art show earlier this year. Sitar virtuoso Anoushka Shankar, appears with her instrument and has spoken about how there was a time when being visibly Indian in international spaces often brought self-consciousness, but growing representation over the past decade has transformed that experience.

Padma Lakshmi, making her second appearance in the Pirelli Calendar, said the calendar captures the many dimensions of Indian womanhood instead of reinforcing conventional standards of beauty.

The calendar also marks a milestone for Pirelli as the iconic publication was photographed entirely in India for the first time in its history.

Rather than attempting to define India through a single visual perspective, the project combines Sundsbø’s contemporary portraiture with a parallel body of work by photographer Avani Rai, who completed a tribute to her late father, legendary Indian photographer Raghu Rai.

Raghu Rai had envisioned pairing photographs from his extensive archive with contemporary images to create a dialogue across generations. He worked on the concept for several months before his death in April 2026 at the age of 83.

After his passing, Avani Rai carried the project forward, reshaping it in her own way. Instead of staging a studio production, she returned to Old Delhi, including Kinari Bazar and Yamuna Ghat, where her father had documented everyday life for more than six decades.

Using prints of Raghu Rai’s photographs, she revisited the original locations and photographed them within present-day surroundings, placing the archival images at the center while contemporary life unfolded around them. More than 200 residents, artisans, performers, dancers and members of her own family appear in the photographs, creating a visual conversation between India’s past and present.

“I stand behind him,” Avani Rai said of both her artistic approach and her relationship with her father’s work. “The past will always exist in the present.”

Sundsbø said he never intended to tell India’s story on his own and believed the collaboration with Raghu Rai’s vision was central to the project. Together, the two bodies of work present a calendar that blends contemporary portraiture with India’s visual and cultural heritage.