I am so not Bollywood

However, after her styling stint in Madhur Bhandarkar’s upcoming Fashion, the uber chic Rita Dhody says she might just do more films  — on her own terms of course!

A year ago, if you were to tell Rita Dhody she would be making her Hindi film debut in 2008, she would think you were absolutely crazy! “No disrespect to anyone, but I am so ‘not Bollywood’…my sensibilities and my way of thinking is so different,” says the fashionista, who, through her company Ananda, works with some of the biggest international design houses in the world.

 Yet, here we are, at her exquisitely done-up home overlooking the Juhu Beach, chatting about her experience as stylist for Madhur Bhandarkar’s much-awaited film Fashion.  Ask her what, despite all the apprehensions, possessed her to say ‘yes’ and she reveals, “I don’t think I ever said ‘yes’. I was literally railroaded into doing the project! Ram Mirchandani of UTV simply wouldn’t take no for an answer. He had
followed my career graph and was confident I was right for this film.”

So, there she was, one of the country’s most stylish women, in high heels and designer wear (very soon traded in for chappals and comfy clothing), strutting up and down the sets at Mehboob Studios, liaising (along with her efficient team) with every department— from the spot dadas to the assistant and costume directors. “I had no experience and more importantly, no tact or diplomacy. I didn’t know how this
industry works and even today, I have no idea how we pulled it off,” she admits candidly.

Ironically, a few weeks into the shoot, Rita found herself becoming ‘a little bit Bollywood’. A fact that good friend, fashion designer and popular film stylist Manish Malhotra, realised when he visited her on the sets and found her perched up on three steel trunks. “He wanted to welcome me to Bollywood, but when he saw me, he just said, ‘You are so much a part of Bollywood’.” Even daughter Aneesa commented on
the amount of Hindi she was speaking—“She kept telling me I was in ‘freak out’ zone,” she laughs.

Incidentally, Rita plays a cameo along with Madhur in the film. “He is a spontaneous director. He is also a very generous director; once you build a trust with him, he allows you a lot of creative freedom,” she says.

Being a well-known face in the social circuit and the fashion industry, her styling is bound to be a talking point once the film is released. Ask her if she is nervous about the reviews, and she clearly states, “You know, it’s very easy to go over-the-top…to add bling and colour to the frame. But I was clear I didn’t want the clothes or the styling to overpower the performances.  The film is not about fashion like in Sex and The City; it’s not about the bags or the shoes. It’s a very real story about human emotions and as such, I’ve tried to keep the styling as real as possible.”

Finally, we couldn’t resist asking…is this the beginning of a career in Bollywood? “I have been getting offers. If I do take up a project, I would have to be guaranteed creative freedom,  pre-production time and a good budget,” she says.
As of now, she’s taking a well-deserved break and trying very hard “to get back to normal life.” 
g_sheree@dnaindia.net