I leave you my portrait so that you will have my presence all the days and nights that I am away from you, said Frida Kahlo. On Wednesday evening,photographer Rohit Chawla added to the numerous images of the legendary Mexican artist. The medium is his 2012 calendar. His inspiration is Kahlos original canvases,the backgrounds of which have been recreated in his sets. Playing the artist are 12 distinguished women,including Odissi dancer Sonal Mansingh; artists Anjolie Ela Menon and Mithu Sen; actors Neha Dhupia,Konkona Sen and Lisa Haydon; writer Kalli Purie and author Tishani Doshi dressed by fashion designer Sabyasachi. The May page has Menon on a wheelchair,with paintbrushes and her heart as the palette. Wearing Kahlos image in her neck,she sits near an easel that has Sabyasachis portrait. Actor Lisa Haydon is more authoritative. Dressed in heavy jewellery,she is seated on a throne,with a surreal backdrop filled with flowers. Frida has been my most enduring love. A French artist said it the best when he said the art of Frida is like a ribbon around a bomb. When we think about her journey,well realise how simple our life is, says Chawla,who had a packed audience at the launch of the Bird Group calendar titled Free Da! The Homage at DLF Emporio. In attendance were some of his muses Mansingh,Menon,Dhupia and Purie and jewellery designer Saba Ali Khan,designer Nida Mahmood and fashion designer Payal Kapoor. The gathering was upbeat unlike the poignant mood reflected in most images in the calendar,that are a take-off from Kahlos original works depicting her troubled experiences,with marriage,miscarriages and numerous operations. It was interesting to see how different personalities my own,Rohits and Frida Kahlos came together for a photograph. The result was quite fascinating, says Mithu Sen,who appears as the July girl,on a bed,in a bare,dilapidated room,with a doll besides her.
