Un-boxing beauty: Delhi lensman's 'Oddity' calendar aims to smash beauty norms

"Beauty is not limited to a certain skin color, body type, gender, sexuality, a certain class, caste, or religion. It is beyond that and cannot be put in a box," says Rishab Dahiya, a Delhi-based fashion photographer and filmmaker, who recently launched ‘Oddity 2022', a calendar that features people from diverse communities. It challenges the idea of beauty defined by a small privileged section of Indian society.

From the glamorous Kingfisher calendars of the early 2000s featuring supermodels to the local calendars featuring political figures and deities, calendars have been instrumental in promoting business giants, celebrities, politicians and select cultures. Similarly, the trend of featuring celebrity models in popular calendars has been dictating beauty and fashion standards which are not inclusive of a majority of communities and their realities.

Dahiya's calendar features Kamna Singh, an assistant professor at Delhi University, Divya Sabhapathi, a biker and risk consultant, Ram Singh Guru who is a researcher and disability rights activist and Snehashish, a Ph.D. Scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University, among others.

Mid-day Online spoke to the photographer, who shared insights on what went into bringing out ‘Oddity' and on the many worries of the fashion industry that regularly lead to the exclusion of professionals from marginalised communities.

Here are edited excerpts from the interview:

What inspired you to take up this project?

The project was long pending. I always wanted to do photoshoots and films which are inclusive and speak of diversity. It becomes difficult to do something like this when we are working for a producer because then it becomes commercial and people are not ready to invest in something which does not align with the mainstream standards. The concept of diversity is alien to most people.

Once I realised that I cannot relate to films like ‘Hum Aapke Hain Kaun' or ‘Hum Sath Sath Hain' or any "family films". I knew that these are not our stories and that our families are not like these, our people are not like these, and someday I wanted to create something about my people.

You conceptualised 'Oddity' in 2021, is this a continuation of the same project? Is it something you are going to do annually?

I wanted to give this calendar an ironic name to call out people's perceptions. Anything which is not as per set standards is "odd" for people. This is a kind of assertion. Oddity 2021 calendar was about spreading awareness about people with disabilities and their struggles. This year it is about diversity, inclusion and representation. I don't know what it will be next year, but I for sure want to do this every year.

Rishab Dahiya (centre) with 'Oddity 2022' team.

Could you give us a brief about the process that went into bringing out 'Oddity' 2022?

The process started after I was done with last year's calendar. I wanted to do a photoshoot around the theme of ‘Decolonising Beauty', but it was really difficult to find people for that. I wanted to shoot with people like me, who come from marginalised communities, castes, and classes, but people from such backgrounds have their own struggles.

Taking time out from their jobs, studies, and other challenges for a photoshoot was difficult for them. It took me almost one year to find, convince and bring people together for this shoot. At the same time, it was extremely difficult to find a sponsor for a calendar which features people from marginalised communities, LGBTQI+ community and people with disabilities. I had almost given up, but then I managed to connect with someone, who wanted to sponsor the calendar anonymously. Then there were people who helped me anonymously and we were able to finish the calendar.

According to you, how do calendars launched by established organisations further strengthen conventional beauty standards in the minds of the people?

When any mainstream calendars are launched, they get a lot of coverage from the media and then reach a lot of people. Some have now even become a brand in themselves. When people see these pictures of models or celebrities heavily retouched and altered, it gives an illusion that this is what ‘beautiful' means, whereas a majority of people cannot even relate to it. When we see supermodels featured in such calendars, we see that they are skinny, fair-skinned, belong to an upper caste and class background, and match the Eurocentric standards of beauty.

They become synonymous with beauty, but I believe that beauty is not limited to a certain skin colour, body type, gender, sexuality, a certain class, caste, or religion. Beauty is beyond that. It is more than what our eyes see and cannot be put in a box. Beauty is vast because everyone under this blue sky is beautiful. Oddity 2022 is an attempt to emphasise that.

According to you, what is the effectiveness or relevance of a calendar in general? And is 'Oddity' mainly about countering the mainstream calendar narratives?

To be honest, we have entered the digital era, Facebook has a calendar, your phones have calendars, watches have calendars, but the calendars have become more than just an instrument to tell us dates, I am telling stories with the calendar, it is a statement. ‘Oddity' is not about countering mainstream calendar narratives, it is about countering the mainstream narrative of beauty and its representation which is about only five percent of people who are from a certain class and caste and control the narrative.

As a fashion photographer, please share what upsets you or what are your observations about representation in the industry?

The whole industry is about a handful of people who are homogeneous in nature and decide what is mainstream and they could not be more wrong. They are still trying to sell the same shallow definition of beauty to a country of 138 crores which is known for its diversity.

The industry is made up of a network, where everyone is related to each other in some or the other way. Either there are family members, friends or acquaintances that come with an overpowering social capital. When people say that the industry works on contacts, they mean "social capital" which is about caste and class privilege. It is difficult for people who are outside this network, especially those from a marginalised caste or community to penetrate this space unless you are economically well off or have a connection.

Even if you somehow get inside this closed circle, it becomes difficult to navigate your way, because of the cultural and other social differences. Every time someone related to them (industry people) enters, they will be preferred over people who are not.

How was the overall reception to the concept and how do you plan to distribute the physical prints of the calendar?

Till now everyone who has seen the calendar has loved it and it encourages me a lot. People from marginalised communities, especially, are happy to hear about it and I have got immense support from them in sharing the message. I felt appreciated when Seema Hari, a model and an anti-colourism activist who actively addresses issues like colourism, caste system, and transphobia on her Instagram page, supported my project. In her Instagram story, she mentioned that the calendar features "the most badass people from communities that don't get represented in India". It also got the attention of some important people in the industry like the National award-winning film director Neeraj Ghaywan who was curious in understanding the idea and appreciated my efforts.

If anyone wants to buy the calendar they can simply DM on Instagram (@rishabdahiya) and the calendar will be shipped to them.