When Rani Mukherji and Abhishek Bachchan went trotting over the countryside last year, looting the rich and falling in love, their story of small-town youngsters with big-city aspirations captured the imagination of millions.
When Rani Mukherji and Abhishek Bachchan went trotting over the countryside last year, looting the rich and falling in love, their story of small-town youngsters with big-city aspirations captured the imagination of millions. Equalling this was the interest generated by Rani’s Babli outfits, colourful short kurtis with printed collars teamed with baggy pyjamas. The rage which began last summer is yet to die down.
“Soon after the film released, we had customers coming in asking for Babli-style kurtis. So we started making them ourselves,” says Vikram Patel, owner of the shop Pinky Collections in Dadar. Patel says he and his tailors are always on the look-out for the next big Bollywood fashion trend because “people love to wear filmi clothes”.
Whether it was the Sadhana-inspired fringe, or having your Calvin Klein briefs peeking out of your jeans, a la Saif Khan in Salaam Namaste, Bollywood has always been India’s number one trend-setter.
“In India, the standards are set by Bollywood, unlike the West where every designer has a distinctive style,” says designer Ashley Rebello, “Designers can reach only a few people, Bollywood reaches everybody.” Rebello is responsible for the sizzling looks that Aishwarya Rai and Sushmita Sen sported in Shabd and Fiza. “Many women asked for those Shabd bikini blouses to wear to parties,” says Imran, who runs a clothes shop on Linking Road, Bandra.
Tapping into the Bollywood fixation is actor Suniel Shetty, who opened a store retailing Bollywood-inspired apparel in Dubai last October. Titled Crossover Bollywood Se, the store, which stocks the designs of over 20 designers, including Narula, Neeta Lulla and Manish Malhotra, covers bridal, couture, diffusion and prêt — all inspired by Bollywood.
“Bollywood clothes are especially popular with NRIs,” says Roopam’s Viren Shah. “Right now, many of our online customers abroad are asking for sherwanis similar to what Abhishek Bachchan wore in Bluffmaster.” To meet the requirements, Roopam buys the outfits from a supplier who provides these clothes to shops across India. “However, these clothes form a very small percentage of our sales,” Shah says.
What the stars wear, we want. No matter where India’s high fashion industry is headed, Bollywood is where the fascination and the money lie.
And though the country's numerous fashion weeks and launches of designers' collections attract media coverage and incite excitement in select circles, their appeal too continues to be restricted to those circles. Bollywood is all about the masses; it's about mass exposure, mass appeal and mass demand.
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