It's not often that you catch Shah Rukh Khan blushing beetroot red. But as he unveiled Kingfisher's 2002 Swimsuit Calendar at Mumbai's restro-bar Olive, the filmstar turned red with embarrassment and was uncharacteristically at a loss for words. He took pains to elaborate that he was there only at the behest of his close friends, Atul Kasbekar and Vijay Mallya. "The calendar does have some very 'close pictures' and I am glad they gave me a chance to ogle at some beautiful women," says Khan.

PIN-UPS: (From top) Pages from the Ratnani, Chopra and Kingfisher calendars

The actor is not the only one gaping at the eye candy on display. Five-thousand people on Mallya's list have already received the calendar with five of India's top models-Ujjwala Raut, Vidisha Pavate, Yana Gupta, Shivani Kapur and Katrina Kaif-dressed in designer swimwear. Mallya is unabashed about doing India's first swimsuit calendar-which could be classified as a mix between the legendary Pirelli and Sports Illustrated calendars. "Everything I do is copied. My endorsing films, races, events or fashion," he says. "This calendar is a way of staying ahead of my competitors."

Today, calendars are no longer about dates and days. The Taj Group recently printed a special annual calendar for its clients and guests, while photographers Sumeet Chopra and Daboo Ratnani too came out with their yearly collections. Chopra's calendar-begun as a self-promotion exercise in the early 1990s-is today an annual feature associated with Bacardi. Shot over 15 days, there is a common line running through most of the photographs he has chosen this year-top Indian models donning a virginal white underwear and not much else. "Sex sells and it shocks," says an unapologetic Chopra.

While the Kingfisher and Chopra calendars feature models in itsy-bitsy clothing, Ratnani has actors and bits of skin on show. There is Riya Sen bedecked with red roses and Hrithik Roshan baring his shoulders with just a black tattoo for company. Ratnani invested Rs 5 lakh in the venture. "The calendar makes the industry sit up and notice you," he says. "Also, I am flooded with calls for more work from ad agencies that have never worked with me." Adding to the cheesecake bonanza is lensman Vikram Bawa's annual calendar that starts the year with a skimpily-clad Sushma Reddy.

Ask models who have shot for the calendars-some of whom have posed free of charge-and you get an indignant "Why not?" from most. Gupta, a common factor in three calendars, shrugs being asked for them as a "big compliment" and has "no problems being perceived as a pin-up". Supermodel Raut, who posed for the Kingfisher calendar in a white Tarun Tahiliani T-bikini, says she was paid big bucks for the shoot. "You can afford to demand your price from some clients and get paid," she says. "But it was time India got a swimsuit calendar. In today's day and age, one can't make a big deal about posing in swimwear."

There are others who don't think the same way. Kaif dropped out from Chopra's calendar because she was getting into movies and felt it may harm her chances. The recipients of the calendars aren't, however, complaining. After decades of boring photographs of monuments, landscapes and wildlife, a bit of eye candy to start the day with isn't such a bad idea.

— Nidhi Taparia Rathi