Dressing for the Oscars!

Come February 22, and all eyes will be on how Slumdog Millionaire will fare at the Oscars. But also piquing everyone’s curiosity is the attire that the Indian stars will be donning at the awards do. For music maestro AR Rahman, it’s only western clothes. Says his stylist Vijayeta Kumar, “Rahman has zeroed in on two outfits for each of the parties — the Oscars’ red carpet and the post awards party by Vanity Fair. He’s sticking only to western wear and nothing really Indian or traditional. He wore traditional attire at the BAFTA and given the strict dress code at the Oscars, he’s opting for a suit.”

Another source reveals that it’s a black tuxedo and a grey tux shirt by Lanvin that Rahman has chosen for the red carpet. “He was shown a lot of options — some 7-8 outfits — to be worn for the main ceremony and he finally decided on the grey tux shirt as it has a classic air about it.”

Accompanying Rahman will be his wife Saira Bano who will be wearing a Sabyasachi Mukherjee creation. “Saira will be wearing traditional outfits for all the dos. The main outfit is a black coloured kurta churidar by Sabyasachi, but she will also be wearing outfits by a local Chennai designer who she has been a regular with all these years,” informs Vijayeta.

However, it’s unclear still what Freida Pinto will be wearing. The petite actor had donned a Manav Gangwani creation for the Mumbai premiere of the film and of late has been spotted wearing many international brands for the movie promotions across the US. Says Manav, “I had spoken to Freida a month back…I don’t think she will be wearing a sari or any Indian traditional outfit for that matter. The production company has its own stylist for her as they want to present her as an international actor at the awards.”

While Gulzar is going to be “wearing a formal suit from my own collection — either black or grey in colour,” child actor Tanay Chheda (who plays the older Jamal in the film) will be wearing an Azeem Khan creation for his big night in LA. “I am doing a black and maroon brocaded bandhgala and black pants for Tanay who will be wearing it to the dinner party post the Oscars,” enthuses Azeem.