Article... jewellery in KAA...!!!

Trendy and economical paper jewellery has become the latest trend in saas bahu serials and is also being sported by celebs.

What would our favourite soaps be without family brawls, much married characters and immortal dadas and daadijis? But besides the interesting plot which thickens with each episode, one aspect that surely brings visual relief amidst the repetitive repertoire of sequences, are the trendy apparels and flashy accessories being sported by your favourite saas or bahu.

Huge chandelier-like danglers swaying in the protagonist's ears, different designs of exquisite mang teeka on the bride's forehead coupled with the mangalsutras each time she takes those saat pheres, and of course the eye-catching chokers in the vitriolic vamps neck, are all attention grabbing and how.

Heavy duty stuff, you say? We agree, but the only difference is that 'heavy' hardly describes the humungus accessories popular TV characters sport these days. With metal accessories having long been replaced with paper jewellery, the answer to today's entertainment industry's demand for trinkets has reached a new creative high.

Predictably, the array of varied jewellery designs being used by fashion designers and stylists to add that extra glitz to characters, both on television and in films, is limitless. Avers Nim Sood, a fashion stylist with Ektaa Kapoor's production house who designs paper jewellery for a number of serials on air, "Paper jewellery in serials, has been appreciated both by the actors and the viewers.

As the outfit and jewellery design for a character depends on the scene, they have to change accessories a number of times which becomes difficult with metal jewellery because it's difficult to maintain. But with paper jewellery there are no such problems. Being light-weight, it is easy to carry and wear and if the need arises, I can make something right there on the set! Amna Sharif in Kahin Tho Hoga, Meeta Vashisht in her new look in Kahani Ghar Ghar Kii and a number of characters in Karam Apna Apna, all wear paper jewellery and are quite happy with it. Very soon Sakshi Tanwar will also be seen in a lovely choker with pearls also made of paper in her new avatar as Parvati."

And with popular stars sporting paper made trinkets with pizzazz, the utility of the item has motivated some to consider it for personal use too. Says well-known cinestar and Tv artiste Neena Gupta, "I was gifted a piece by a close friend and I really loved it. It is quite an experience to wear such unusual pieces."

Agrees Anuradha Thackeray, entrepreneur and bahu of Shiv Sena supremo, Bal Thackeray, who picked up some paper jewellery pieces at an exhibition and has been hooked on to them since, "I have been wearing paper jewellery for over four years now and the necklaces and earrings still look as new as the day I bought them. Being easy to maintain, these haute and trendy pieces are ideal for me especially considering the economical price they are available for."

Not surprising, feels Kanchan Gupta, a Kanpur-based manufacturer, designer and exporter of paper jewellery. "Paper jewellery is very popular as it is affordable, attractive to look at and easy to wear. Today, its demand has grown so much that we regularly get orders from Austria, Spain, Sweden, Greece and Denmark. Common mill paper is used as a base to make earrings, beads, bangles and necklaces in both traditional as well as western designs which appeal to all age groups," she says.

Quite an art this!