Pirelli’s 2027 calendar celebrates Indian culture through the lens of renowned photographer Avani Rai, her late father Raghu Rai, and Norwegian creative Sølve Sundsbø.
There’s a rarefied cultural tone often set by the legendary Pirelli Calendar, and the lens of the exclusive offering now turns towards India while showcasing jaw-dropping photography and equally stunning models.
The famed calendar, once positioned by Italian tire manufacturer Pirelli as a corporate bonus gift, now makes its way into the hands of celebrities, VIPs, influencers and top Pirelli customers. This year’s edition, which was unveiled today in New Delhi, uses the deep cultural heritage and everyday hustle-and-bustle of India as its focus.
The calendar takes on a deeper meaning, as Avani Rai, the daughter of celebrated Indian photographer Raghu Rai, carries on her father’s legacy in shooting the calendar following Raghu’s April 2026 passing. The elder Rai worked on the calendar until his death, pairing archival images with that of contemporary India, carrying on a career capturing the country that started in 1965. In continuing Raghu Rai’s work, Norwegian photographer Sølve Sundsbø returned once more behind the lens alongside Avani Rai to capture a distinct cultural dialogue, while Avani also appeared as a subject of Sundsbø. “It was complete freedom,” Rai told Maxim in a recent interview. “We didn’t have any rules or ideas or boundaries.”
The experience of bringing her late father’s work to life through the prestigious calendar was deeply impactful for the younger Rai, she told Maxim. “I think I tried to do justice to something that otherwise, in the world of my life, would not be a thing,” she said. “This is the first and the last time I’m going to do something like this.” Rai noted that it was crucial to bridge the gap between her father’s dedication to capturing life across India while existing alongside 21st-century life. “There’s a conversation between the past and the present,” she said. “This project was something new entirely, about India being a character, the protagonist.”
A who’s who of notable stars join Rai in the latest Pirelli offering. Led by model, author,Top Chef host and entrepreneur Padma Lakshmi, the calendar also showcases familiar faces like actress Freida Pinto, Indian model Lakshmi Menon, actress Bhavitha Mandava, poet and performer Rupi Kaur and actress Aditi Rao Hydari, with vibrant imagery popping off page against the lively backdrop of Indian life.
Pinto, who starred in the classic 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire, recognized the “immense depth of history and what they’ve been trying to create since 1964,” she said of working with Pirelli on the acclaimed calendar. “I’m even more excited that I’m part of it,” she added. “It’s exclusive and it’s prestigious.”
Groundbreaking and often inventive hardly scratches the surface as far as the legacy of the VIP-only, lavish calendar is concerned. The 2026 Pirelli Calendar showcased stars like singer-songwriter FKA Twigs alongside former Maxim cover star Irina Shayk and Oscar winner Tilda Swinton, depicting 11 powerful models as connections between humanity and the natural world, a calendar also shot by Sundsbø.
In this year’s edition as well as past editions, calendar star Pinto noted that “every photograph is a piece of art,” adding that she’s followed the “genius cover art and photography” of the calendar through the years.
In the 2027 Pirelli Calendar, 18 photographs apiece by Raghu and Avani Rai, plus the Norwegian photographer Sundsbø, arrive in a two-set box that celebrates the past and present of the Rai family and the country itself. When Avani Rai stepped behind the lens for Pirelli, she noted she was “simply putting his dream into my work. When I photograph his dream, it means he’s standing in front of me.”
