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Seven women. One cover. A historic moment. Yeah, that's pretty much what happened one sultry summer's day at a suburban studio. Estrogen was bouncing off the walls and there was something in the air that day, something extraordinary, irreversible and magical. Waheeda Rehman, Rekha, Hema Malini, Karisma Kapur, Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Sonam Kapoor. Yeah we are patting ourselves on the back a bit. Come on, where else would you find these gorgeous, utterly talented and totally fantastic women on one cover together? It looks damn easy but we can tell ya, it was a Herculean task. Yes, right down to the banal matching of dates. If Kareena was free then Deepika wasn't, if Hemaji could shoot then someone else was unavailable on that day. After much going back and forth we settled on one date, one photographer (the ever dependable Dabboo Ratnani) one stylist (the unshakeable Jayati Bose) and numerous make-up hair wizards (one for each!) and fittings, fittings and more fittings.

Lead up to the shoot
We had Jayati heading to Waheedaji's house to show her saris and was she nervous about meeting the legendary beauty. But Waheedaji was grace personified and the fittings went off without any fuss. Hemaji was a tougher nut to crack but finally she was happy too. Rekha would wear her own stuff and there was no two ways about that. We knew she would come up with something exotic. So it was exquisite gowns for the Kapoor sisters and funky dresses for Sonam and Deepika. Sounded totally exciting!

Day of the shoot
Sonam gives us a lecture on Karl Lagerfeld and Marc Jacobs even as pancake is deftly applied to her face and her hair is being oppressed into curls. Deepika is looking so thin, we want to faint. But she slaps us and tells us that she is actually fat. Ya right! Karisma is going bonkers because of a miniscule sty in her eye that is invisible to our eyes at least but she is fretting nevertheless. But make-up man Ritesh expertly covers it up. Kareena wants to leave. She has been chanting she has places to go, things to do since the moment she came in but yet she obliges for some close-ups patiently. Waheedaji is thrilled to see Sonam (the Delhi-6 connection) and Hemaji is giving a slightly breathless Jitesh a wideberth because she thinks he is some gushy fan who has come to stalk her. Finally, we tell her that he is the editor and she says, 'Oh he looks like a little boy! Jitesh goes blush-blush. He is so excited to see Waheedaji and Hemaji especially. He is on backslapping terms with the rest but Waheedaji and Hemaji are iconic for him (and for the rest of us).

The shoot progresses without a hitch. Everything is hunky dory. There's much girly banter in the air. Shutterbug Dabboo Ratnani, whose doll-like daughter also makes an appearance at the shoot, goes click-click, snap snap endlessly. Until he announces it was a wrap. The ladies disperse. Some linger on to chat with us in their vans while others head straight for their cars. As for us, it was all in a day's work and what a day it was.

Issue on stands. Grab your copy now!

Sukanya Venkatraghavan