She’s arguably one of the most stylish women in the rarefied ranks of Mumbai high society. Part of it could be attributed to Reena Wadhwa’s stint on television, first
as an actress and later a producer — she made her debut with the cult sitcom Ye Jo Hai Zindagi when she was barely 18, playing Farida Jalal’s daughter.
“My father used to accompany me to late night shoots, all the time wishing me to get married as soon as possible,” she recalls, laughing. And it happened soon enough. Her husband Ashok Wadhwa, an investment whiz, is today one of the hottest corporate deal-makers in India. But strangely, it wasn’t Cupid but something far more conventional that brought beauty and brains together. “Believe it or not, we met through the matrimonial section of a newspaper,” smiles Reena.
But she’s no stranger to the corporate world — her father, CY Pal, was the chairman of Cadbury India, which is probably why she had zero withdrawal symptoms when she quit acting after marriage, to start a family. The sabattical lasted a decade, and she returned as an actor-producer with shows like Neeyat (starring Neena Gupta, Reena played her daughter), Kahin Diya Jale Kahin Jiya and Aathish (for which she won the Screen Best Actress Award in 2000.)
But all that’s in the past. Her newest passion is the high-end luxury business, and she’s now partnered with a major international fashion house.
“I associate myself with luxury brands because I enjoy wearing them. It’s also different from all that I’ve done in the past,” she says, sitting in her sprawling Cuffe Parade apartment. “But as long as it doesn’t compromise my business venture, I’m open to acting in select films.”
Ever since Reena’s been formally inducted into the fashion world, fashion weeks are threatening to become more work than play. “Really, I’m just about getting regular at fashion weeks,” she chuckles, adding on a more serious note: “In comparison to say, the shows in Milan, we have a long way to go. At LFW there was a huge disparity between upcoming and established designers in terms of attendance and presentation. In contrast, in Milan, all the shows were equally well-presented for all levels of designers.”
So what does she think of the celebrity stampede on the Indian fashion ramp? “I think a celebrity walking the ramp takes away attention from the design. I wouldn’t encourage that. India, fortunately or unfortunately, puts a lot of emphasis on filmstars and cricketers — that’s the psyche of the masses, even the elite. But if I were a designer, I’d never have a filmstar walk down the ramp with my clothes.”
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