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Stylish bouffants embellished with stars and beads, velvet jackets worn over frilly floral shirts and figure-hugging kurtis teamed with tighter churidars are making a comeback, on the silver screen of course, as Bollywood brings back the look of the glorious 50s-70s Indian cinema. Both filmmakers Sudhir Mishra and Farah Khan's new films are set in the Hindi motion picture industry and tell the story of those who make films for a living. While Mishra's Khoya Khoya Chand starring Shiney Ahuja and Soha Ali Khan is set in the 50s and 60s, Farah's Om Shanti Om casts an eye on the tinseltown of the sizzling 70s.

Period films have always enamoured our filmmakers. If decades ago Sohrab Modi's Sikander (1941) and Jhansi Ki Rani (1953) — the latter being India's first technicolour film, gave the Indian moviegoer a taste of history, today's filmmakers like Ashutosh Gowarikar, Chandraprakash Dwivedi and Ketan Mehta are refreshing our memories about the centuries gone by. Gowarikar's Jodhaa-Akbar is a period film set for a January release. While his film takes us back in history, Farah's Om Shanti Om and Mishra's Khoya Khoya Chand delve into the golden period of Indian cinema.

"Om Shanti Om is set in the rocking era of the 1970s. The cast sports hairstyles that are completely over-the-top. There are bell-bottomed pants which were a rage then and so were the full-sleeve blouses and bow ties. The film has drama and a love story too," says Farah. Farah has gone a step ahead and used live orchestra with an arrangement of 140 music pieces for the song Dhoom Tana. Music composers Vishal-Shekhar even requested yesteryear music director Pyarelal (of Laxmikant-Pyarelal fame) to help them with the arrangement.

Farah adds, "Stars like Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna and Hema Malini were on top in those days. It was a fun era. I was always keen on doing a film on that period. The styling is unique, totally like the 70s in the first half. I've even used cars which Rajesh Khanna and Hema Malini drove those days. Guru shirts, which were made popular by Khanna, were also used in the film. I have used undertones of the film industry for that decade. It's got a mad look and is not a sordid, seedy and dark side of the industry that has been projected. I had to do a lot of referencing with hairdressers. I have used props from R.K. Studios, like the lights and cranes."

Khoya Khoya Chand is about two people who get caught in the mad world of the 50s and 60s. Soha Ali Khan plays Nikhat, an 18-year-old girl whose mother peddles her into the film industry to become a star. She meets a young writer-director whom she falls in love with. Although both films are set in the Hindi film industry, Om Shanti Om and Khoya Khoya Chand are very different from each other. They are, however, much in the same spirit as the previous films made by their respective directors. "I think it is a film more modern than Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, I find it difficult to slot, it is a bit of heightened realism. It is my most romantic film till date though," says Mishra.

So while Om Shanti Om stars Shah Rukh Khan as a struggling actor in the 70s, complete with bell-bottoms and bold checks, Mishra's Khoya Khoya Chand features Soha Ali Khan as a yesteryear superstar. To get under the skin of her character, Soha used much of her mother Sharmila Tagore's old wardrobe. "We have looked at the costumes of the stars as well as the sets of that time. We have got the makeup done by Pandharida, who has worked with many yesteryear actresses. We have used Raj Kapoor and V. Shantaram's archives. My costume designers have got shawls, saris and pictures belonging to that period. The period is merely a backdrop. It's not about the vases and details, ultimately it is the story and actors who make a film. When you watch the film if you don't forget the time it is set in, it means we have failed as filmmakers," says Mishra.

For both Mishra and Farah, their new films are their tributes to the film industry, a chance to hold a mirror to a world they know so intimately themselves. "I'm not making a peep-show into anyone's lives. I love those people. It's also about the madness and joy of being in the movies," he adds.

Gowarikar's Jodhaa-Akbar is the most expensive film to be made in India till date. The costumes and jewellery are a perfect replica of the designs that glorified the Mughal era. Designer Neeta Lulla said that all the jewellery used in the film — emeralds, rubies and diamonds, are real. In fact, while shooting for the film at the N.D. Studios in Karjat, policemen was constantly stationed outside the sets to ensure safety.
"Jodhaa-Akbar is an epic romance. It is a youthful film which deals with their lives from the age of 13 to 28. It was a marriage of alliance. It is love and romance after marriage — how they love and respect each other. It is the coming together of two cultures. Jodhaa-Akbar is a youthful film," says Gowarikar. "This film does not speak of history — it speaks of an alliance between two cultures and two kingdoms," he adds.

The film has faced its own share of controversies ever since it has been launched. Historians claimed that Jodhaa never existed in history and she was just a figment of someone's imagination. But will Jodhaa-Akbar live up to the hype that it has generated only remains to be seen.

While Sohrab Modi may have immortalised Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi in Jhansi Ki Rani, Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai are vying to be the face of the fearless queen on celluloid. Buzz has it that director Ketan Mehta is keen to cast Aishwarya in the title role. If reports are to be believed, Sushmita has scripted a film on the life of Rani of Jhansi under her banner, where she will portray the role of the queen. Sushmita has also taken lessons in horse riding for the legendary role. She has approached director Chandraprakash Dwivedi for the film.

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