wow,that's all dressed up

NEETA LULLA My association with Aishwarya goes back a long way. Yash Chopra called me one day to say that he had a test shoot with this stunning newcomer whom he wanted to cast in his next film. Turning heads This was just after Darr had become a huge hit. The only hitch was that Aishwarya was going to participate in the Miss World Pageant then.. Anyway, I first met her at that test shoot. She was this beautiful girl unaware about how heads turned when she walked into a room. We hit it off instantly, she has a sharp memory of film clothes.She told me about all the clothes I had designed for Sridevi and Juhi for their films.. we lost touch after she won Miss World contest. She was away for a year but after her homecoming, I met up with her again to work on her film Jeans. Over the years, Ash has been consistent with clothes. She has always been partial to classic cuts and simple outfits. Working with her through the last decade, I realised she has an affinity towards more traditional clothing like saris and churidar kurtas. With eyes like hers She prefers softer colours in neu- trals or pale blue, greens and peaches. Indian clothes look most elegant on her. Ivory, nude, beige, gold and peach flatter her most and bring out her coloured eyes effectively. Off screen, she looks best in jeans and salwar kurtas for casual wear, churidars and saris for a semi-formal look and saris or gowns for formal occasions. She never overdoes her look with excessive jewellery or loud embroidery and prefers softer cuts that have an eternal quality. She is an intelligent dress- er, she doesn't restrict her- self to one look. I've also done many of her com- mercials and shows, including the clothes for the bridal line of Nakshatra and the bridal wear for her first- ever Longines ad. D-Day dressing Even though there have been many 'fun' moments, we've had our differences of opinions many times. The high points of the films that we have worked on would include Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Taal and Devdas. About her film cos- tumes, Ash has always been very aware that film clothes go down in history so she has always been particular about every detail of her garments and acces- sories. When she called me to make her wedding outfit and trousseau, I was thrilled. It was a completely different feeling from doing her film cos- tumes. ANAITA ADAJANIA What changes do you see in Aish- warya as a dresser over the past decade? Ash has always been a con- trolled dresser..she knows that simpler clean lines work best to showcase her natural beauty. Do you see any notable changes in her look? Ash has grown to be much more comfortable with fashion and has moved from more embellished looks to a cleaner, simpler look which works so well for her. I also feel she enjoys fashion so much more… Look at her in her new Lux campaign, she's celebrating style. In Dhoom 2, you gave her the hottest look she's ever had on screen. Was it difficult convincing her to wear those sexy clothes? No. Dhoom 2 was a mis- sion.. Aditya Chopra had briefed me to make it the hottest and sexiest film ever. Since Ash was in great shape.. she had just the right attitude to the character. Which commercials have you styled her for in the past few years? Lux, De beers and every possible magazine cover! Name some high points of your work together? I have to say Dhoom 2 was a super high in more ways than one. You could feel the energy during the production process. But also cov- ers and editorials largely shot for magazines like L'Officiel, Elle, Cos- mo, Hello, Rolling Stone, with ace photographer Farrokh Chothia have and will always be a real cre- ative high. Haven't you styled Abhishek Bachchan as well? Yes, I have an old association with Abhishek, my favourite being Right Here, Right Now. Also, I'm currently working with him..he's extremely clued in,it's always fun to tap his broody good looks. MANISH MALHOTRA When did you first dress up Aishwarya? I first worked with her much before she joined movies. It was for a suiting ad campaign. After she joined movies, I was approached by Sanjay Leela Bhansali to do her clothes for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam but somehow that never happened. My first movie with her was Aditya Chopra's Mohabbatein in which I gave a very simple classic look, mostly in white. After that I did part of Albela, which had been stalled in between. Then more recently, we worked together on the Lux ad.. she wore a glamorous red saree and looked wow.

Even though I haven't done too much work with her as a designer, I think she's so beautiful that she looks good in almost everything she wears. What changes do you see in her as a dresser since the past decade? I feel the press has unnecessarily been harsh on her at times. Over- all, she's been a good dresser through her career. She has great carriage and looks fabulous in saris.. As far as changes go, all actresses get better with experi- ence. Aishwarya has always worn suits, gowns and sarees over the years.. I like her look a lot in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas and Dhoom 2. Did you ever have any clash on costumes? No, it was easy dress- ing her since we already had a brief about the look. In Mohabbatein, Yashji, Aditya and I had visualised a look for her and we stuck to it. What has been the high point of your work together? Mohabbatein. She looked pris- tine.Aishwarya is best with less make-up and classic clothes since she's so beautiful in real life. What looks and colours suit her best? She looks best in saris. Also, since I'm partial to white, I'd say she looks best in white. But then, she'd look absolutely divine in a glamorous black sari too. How would you dress her in real and reel life? For a film, one has to stick to the character and decide the look.. but in real life, I'd dress her up like I did in the Coke ad, in a sexy sari with a spaghetti strap blouse. You've dressed Abhishek too. Right? I did Abhishek's clothes for Kuch Na Kaho, Haan Maine Bhi Pyar Kiya and KANK. Like Ash, he too has good carriage. His jackets in KANK became very popular. Abhishek is a sweet person,very easy to work with. How would you rate Aishwarya's sense of style? I think true style comes from with- in. Aishwarya is a simple dresser in real life and that's absolutely okay. Gone are the days when hero- ines looked like Christmas trees on and off screen. Given a choice, how would you dress up the couple for their wedding? I would go for softer colours for her and use a shade, which would be completely unique and trend setting. I wouldn't use a pre- dictable red for her wedding ensemble. I feel she would look like a mil- lion dollars in a nice ghagra in an unusual colour. It would set a trend. As for Abhishek, I'd give him a classic sherwani, without a drape or any jazzy embroidery. I'd con- centrate more on texture and cut and give him a stylish understat- ed look. I have always felt men don't look very good with flashy embroidery and prefer to dress them subtly. If I had to use embroidery, it would be more antique and dull. ANNA SINGH From the moment I saw her, her overpowering beauty left me mes- merised. Director Rahul Rawail called me to dress her in Aur Pyar Ho Gaya. I was also doing Bobby's clothes at that time..some of the outfits went on to become a rage, especially that gold lace churidar kurta which looked divine on Ash. With her ter- rific height and body, she looked ethereal in that dress. Beautiful girl Even though we haven't done much work together in terms of quantity, I feel I have done great quality work in some of her films. Ash is such a beautiful girl that it would take a very lousy design- er to make her look bad. For Umrao Jaan I had to dress her in ornate costumes with heavy jewellery, a contrast of her look in real life. In real life, her clothes never shout. I feel she carries off saris with a lot of grace. Even though she favours pastels and lighter shades, she looks just as splendid in brighter deep jewel tones. Her luminous eyes always take the colour of her clothes. Pin drop silence Even though Umrao Jaan didn't fare well, the costumes will go down in the history of Indian cin- ema as some of the best period looks ever created for screen. The first day she walked onto the set in that gold dress, there was pin drop silence. Ash has worn designers like Shahab Durazi and Tarun Tahil- iani a lot. I have made many of her outfits in real life too and have also worked with her on a couple of ad campaigns. Last year, I made her gold lahenga for the Commonwealth Games.. she got a standing ova- tion from over 50,000 people. She looked so radiant when she entered the stadium. I have dressed Abhishek a lot through his career..he has always reminded me of Jackie Shroff in terms of body language. I am very fond of him as a person and am so happy that he's found his perfect soul mate.

W hile Aishwarya Rai is known internationally for her beauty, Abhishek is the son of the legendary Amitabh Bachchan. Till about two years ago, he was Bachchan Sr's son. Today, he's the Guru. Besides, Abhishek is probably the most eligi- ble bachelor after Rahul Gandhi. Now, both the bride and the groom, are the most dynamic, most-written and talked about personalities. The coming together of such a duo is bound to create a stir. Besides, the Bachchan family is known as the first family of the film industry. Hence the excite- ment amongst the masses. In the 1970s, another wedding had created quite a stir — that of Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia. When Khanna's wedding was announced — he was a superstar then — some girls went into depression, some even committed suicide. Of course, that may not be the case in this wedding because the public is much more informed today. Thanks, of course, to the media, which wasn't as strong as it is today. T he most beautiful woman of India is getting married to the most eligible bachelor. It's an ideal match..a fairy tale wedding. It gives us a chance to relive our fantasy. It also gives us a chance to break free from a mundane stressful life. Mr Right meets Miss Perfect. It's a stark contrast to our lives. But there's another aspect to this. People are cribbing about the traffic chaos in Juhu. A couple of days ago, I overheard someone say- ing that the city has slowed down because of their marriage. They should go out of the city and get married. A lot of time, money and news space has been spent on them. But then, the general public looks forward to such an event..they feel it's a part of their life. It's the same kind of happiness that one would feel if India wins the World Cup. It's like apni Aishwarya Rai is getting married. Besides, Amitabh Bachchan is adored and looked up to by everyone. His son is getting married..half our senior population feels as if their son is getting married. I don't think there's really any excitement among the general public for the wedding. Whatever excitement you see today is not because the common man wants to know each and every detail of the wedding happening behind the walls of Amitabh Bachchan's bunga- low. It's because the media wants to know what's happening. With so many publications and channels competing with one another to get the latest and spiciest news first.. it has become a com- pulsion for them to give 'breaking news'. That's what is creating the hype. In the past, people were curious about what the king and the queen did. I think, the same logic applies here..since the couple is popular. The excitement will soon die down in the media because public memory is short. The event will fade much sooner than expected. Personally, I would say leave the couple alone. Let them have their space and time. They deserve the right to privacy and some special moments. W ell, the buzz in the city is because Abhi- Ash's wedding has a fairytale twist to it. It's a high profile wedding..people are curious to know about everything happening at Jalsa and Pratiksha. They want to know what the couple will wear, who the guests are or who is visiting their bungalow to give them their best wishes. It's also funny how much the media contributes to creating this excitement. The other day a national television channel was showing what colour dress Aishwarya should wear, what pet name Abhishek should call her by..whether she will get along with Jaya Bachchan. If the wedding had been on a bigger scale, it would have created much more hype. Probably, we would have got to know what the main course consists of, what's for dessert. I think the excitement will not die even after the wedding. People will want to know where the couple's honeymooning. The couple's relationship will be under constant spotlight.