All the stars were aligned in the right place at the right time for Indian designer Manish Malhotra when his sterling career was ignited. Bollywood stars that is. P.Ramakrishnan met the man who dresses the most beautiful women in the world and almost single-handedly revolutionised Indian fashion in Hindi films.
It was more of a circus tent than a skirt. Blue and yellow stripes that reached the poor girl's ankles and a skirt that twirled like a pancake when the actress turned in song, in film. Her belly-baring, off-the-shoulder pink blouse was studded with dangling sequins. A lot of them. If the lights went out, people could follow her top like the northern star. Her hair was in a ponytail. No, a side ponytail - it was the '80s. Not to forget the blue eye-shadow and pink, heavily glossed lips, like she just ate a glazed chicken before she stepped on stage.
Oh the horror!
Throughout a large chunk of the 1980s and most of the 1990s, Indian cinema was a litmus test on how foul and amuck fashion could go. A land of hand-embroidered perfection, pashminas and nine-yard saris, there wasn't a sorrier sight than a leading Indian actress clutching the branch of a banyan tree yet looking like a Christmas tree when she tried to wear a Western outfit.
All that changed slowly and steadily when former model Manish Malhotra stepped into the limelight courtesy of some very high profile friends.
"Oh I just love [Indian actress] Sridevi", he exclaims. "My big break came when she, (the biggest actress in Bollywood at that time), let me do her clothes on film, my greatest passion. It was a dream come true and I learned a lot from her. All about fabrics, patterns and colours, and what would look good on screen and what wouldn't. She let me experiment and my model was the number one actress in Indian cinema. What more could I ask for?"
Apart from the curvy south Indian actress, Malhotra also designed for a host of young starlets on the rise. When he did the complete look and makeover of actress Urmila Matondkar in the film Rangeela (1995), he collected a special Filmfare award (India's Oscar equivalent) for his contribution to the film. And from then on, there's been no looking back.
Now one of the top designers in India, he was in Hong Kong as Moet & Chandon paid tribute to him, amongst other Asian designers, in a gala evening hosted at the Four Seasons. Each designer brought an outfit, inspired by the champagne and showcased it to an international mix of about 1000 VIPs. When his first model appeared in a glittering bikini blouse, smothered under a gorgeous, highly embellished sari, spontaneous applause erupted throughout the audience. By the time all his models stepped out and he joined them in the finale in his own white Sherwani top and blue denims, whispers among the crowds queried if the handsome young designer was a model too. Well, he was.
"I'm flattered that people think so but with my paunch, but believe me, I'm not! I did it very briefly a long time ago but I'm very happy creating," he says, pleased as punch at the fawning conjectures.
Apart from creating makeovers for several high-profile folks in India, he branched out to create his own namesake diffusion label in 2004. For those who think a pop over to his shops for an easy sale in the land of rupee is in the offing, think again. It costs a pretty penny to land an outfit from his collection. "I am very particular about quality and colour, fabric and patterns, and everything. I don't cut corners anywhere," he says. "That's just not my style."
A close friend to every single top celebrity and socialite in India, Malhotra arrived in Hong Kong having festooned his multi-plumed cap with yet another feather. "I just received the MTV Style award for the clothes I created for both the men and the women in the film Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (Never Say Goodbye). I've designed for men for years and it has been a great experience."
Be it the rather eccentric Michael Jackson, the exquisite Cate Blanchett, or the effervescent Reese Witherspoon, Malhotra's creations have wrapped Hollywood bodies too. "For one-off projects really," he clarifies. "For example Reese wore one of my outfits in Mira Nair's Vanity Fair but I'm not really that enthused to try my luck in the West. I'm very happy in Mumbai. If all goes according to plan, my film directorial venture should take off in 2007. I'm more excited about that. God willing, I can start next year."
There's no denying his talent and his innate knack for setting trends but as Malhotra humbly says, "Yes I do think I was in the right place at the right time. The industry was slowly going through a change and I found directors that were willing to support me in my vision of how a film actress should look. More subtle but sophisticated cuts, more conscious decisions on the over-all look. Then when actresses insisted on working with me, well, then the battle was nearly won!"
So it's goodbye to Bollywood babes when his first film as director takes off?
"No, I love designing clothes but it doesn't mean I can't do other things,"he says. "I have my own successful talk show, I've been going over the script of the film, the casting, the new shop that I opened in Dubai, fashion week, coming here to Hong Kong, I'm flying to a shoot straight after..."
And to think that all this sprang from the... what was it, a bicycle or toothpaste modelling shot?
He laughs and says,"Oh God, you know there was an actor whose wardrobe I was fixing and he was teasing me the other day because he found an old photo of me in some magazine where I was modelling on the beach wearing blue socks! Blue socks at the beach!" he says covering his face in sartorial shame. "We all make mistakes... and then we recover!"
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