Bollywood influence on fashion trends waning

November 23, 2012

kareena-kapoor


New Delhi, November 23: Be it Madhubala's Anarkali look in "Mughal-e-Azam" or Kareena Kapoor's T-shirt-salwar combo in "Jab We Met", Bollywood has inspired trends down the ages. But that influence seems to be waning due to a variety of reasons, including greater exposure to the West and the move towards more realistic cinema, say designers.

There is also the constant fear of criticism, which has restricted filmmakers from attempting to set fashion trends.

According to veteran designer Ritu Kumar, people were earlier not so exposed to fashion. So every new and unique garment seen on the big screen set a trend. This is no longer the case.


"Initially, costumes, which were off everyday wear for the normal population, did cause a stir and led to fashion influences as the market was starved of such designer wear. But this has largely changed," Kumar, who is yet to design for a Bollywood film, told IANS.

Kumar, who has designed the costumes for Deepa Mehta's "Midnight's Children", hopes the scenario improves.

"The industry still seems to design for individuals. When more holistic designing for a complete film is taken up, the fashion scene in India will mature further."

In the past, Bollywood has given memorable styles to masses. Remember the 1960 period drama "Mughal-e-Azam" when Madhubala as Anarkali sported long flowing kurtas and churidars. Almost five decades later, the eponymous Anarkali kameez is the current rage with everybody, from homemakers to hip Bollywood actresses, wearing it.

In 1994, Madhuri Dixit left a mark with her green embroidered choli paired with a white lehnga and a purple embroidered sari in "Hum Aapke Hain Koun...!". Women lapped up the styles at family weddings. There are so many similar instances. There were Rani Mukerji's "Bunty Aur Babli" suits and then the sari, of course, redefined over and over again with movies like "Chandni", "Main Hoon Naa" and "Dostana".

But new trends are now few and far between.

"The main reason for this is that a lot of stylists of celebrities or films are playing safe with ongoing trends in fashion. They are primarily using outfits which are in fashion, avoiding the risk of fashion faux pas. Thus they are unable to create a new trend," designer Pria Kataaria Puri told IANS.

"Earlier, film costumes were not designed according to what everyone was wearing or according to international trends but were rather filmy or outlandish, rule breaking; and if they worked well, it became a new trend. To create a style, one has to create costumes that are unusual," she added.

Costume designer Payal Saluja, who has worked on Vishal Bhardwaj's "Maqbool", "Ishqiya", "Saat Khoon Maaf" and now "Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola", says the move towards realistic filmmaking in Bollywood has changed the scene.

"Stories are becoming real and connectable for the audience these days. So, the clothes also need to be in tandem. Clothes should never be stronger than the character because then the viewer will only remember the clothes. So it is first important to think of blending costumes into the narrative rather than create fashion trends," Saluja told IANS.

According to designer duo Meera and Muzaffar Ali, one of the leading names in the world of fashion, "costumes (today) are left to stars' whims and their sycophant designers and colours that suit a cameraman".

"Anything and everything in Bollywood can set a trend amidst mindless people who know no better. What concerns me is the style of the film," said Muzaffar Ali, director of the classic "Umrao Jaan".

His wife Meera added: "There were some yesteryear stars who had a body language which made what they wore extremely attractive. They somehow caught the fancy of the audience by getting the colour and mood right, particularly in romantic outdoors... Shammi Kapoor, Dharmendra and at times Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand, but the rest of the film had no look whatsoever. Similarly, women had a story on their face and they knew how to tell it more effectively through their performance."



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News Network
May 28,2020

New Delhi, May 28: On the World Menstrual Hygiene Day, former Miss World Manushi Chhillar on Thursday underlined the need to spread awareness on feminine hygiene.

The 23-year-old star has been roped in by UNICEF to spread awareness on the need to educate girls on personal hygiene.

Chhillar put out a post on Instagram expressing the need to educate girls with all information on maintaining hygiene, constructing adequate sanitation facilities and providing quick access to feminine hygiene products.

Manushi, who is participating in the UNICEF global initiative called the Red Dot Challenge, stated, "Every young girl has the right to accurate information about her body. Without the right information, girls often don't know how to safely manage their period. It's time to break the silence. I am calling all girls, boys, women and men to take the #RedDotChallenge with me. Because of Menstruation Matters. @unicefindia."

Along with the post, Chhillar shared her pictures with red dots on her hand representing the 'Red Dot Challenge.'

The former Miss World runs her own initiative on menstrual hygiene called 'Project Shakti' that works across several states of India.

The beauty queen turned actor will debut in Bollywood with the highly anticipated historical-drama 'Prithviraj' opposite Akshay Kumar. She will be playing the royal princess Sanyogita, whose tales of beauty mesmerised an entire nation.

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Agencies
January 5,2020

Los Angeles: Kevin Feige may have confirmed that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) will be getting its first transgender superhero but the Marvel Studios has said there is no definite timeline for that.

During a Q&A at the New York Film Academy, a fan had asked Feige about whether the studio plans to introduce LGBTQ characters into the MCU, "specifically the trans characters".

To this, the Marvel Studios president had replied, "Yes, absolutely, yes... And very soon. In a movie that we're shooting right now."

But sources in the company clarified to Variety that Feige only confirmed the first part of the comments that a trans character will appear in the MCU in future but he did not give a time period.

Though Feige did not reveal the name of the project that will introduce a LGBTQ character, fans speculate that he may have been referring to "The Eternals".

The film, which will feature an ensemble cast of Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kit Harington and others, is set to unveil a gay superhero in the MCU.

Marvel Studios has been making efforts to incorporate more diversity in its films after the success of "Black Panther", which featured a virtually all-black cast, and its first woman-fronted superhero movie "Captain Marvel".

"Avengers: Endgame", which became the highest grossing movie of all-time, had featured the MCU's first gay character, a cameo by director Joe Russo.

In 2020, the studio has two releases -- Scarlett Johansson-starrer "Black Widow" and "The Eternals" -- which have been helmed by women directors.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

Mumbai, Aug 2: Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuaron has come aboard as an executive producer on filmmaker Chaitanya Tamhane's movie The Disciple. The Marathi feature is set to represent India at the 77th edition of the Venice Film Festival. It will be screened in the Competition section of the prestigious film gala.

The movie, which is Tamhane's follow-up to his National Award-winning feature Court, has also been selected for 2020 Toronto International Film Festival's official line-up.

"I met Chaitanya through a mentorship program where I had the opportunity to watch his very superb debut film, Court  I was immediately impressed by his sense of cinema and fearless confidence to tell stories.

"He was part of most of Roma's process and I jumped to the opportunity to be part of the process of his second film The Disciple. I believe Chaitanya is one of the most important new voices of contemporary cinema," Cuaron said in a statement.

Tamhane said he is honoured to have Cuaron aboard the film.

"It’s a bit surreal and an incredible honour for me to have one of the most recognised and acclaimed filmmakers in the world be part of 'The Disciple'. In some ways, this validation from Alfonso Cuaron is even more," he added.

The Disciple, a 127-minute long feature, stars Aditya Modak, Arun Dravid, Sumitra Bhave, and Kiran Yadnyopavit. It has been produced by “Sir” actor Vivek Gomber through his Zoo Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

The Disciple marks Tamhane’s return to Venice after he won the Best Film - Orizzonti and Lion of the Future award for Court in 2014.

Court, a poignant commentary on India's judicial system, also won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in 2015 and was India's official entry for the Best Foreign Film at the 2016 Oscars.

Endeavor Content will sell North American rights and New Europe Film Sales boards the film as an international sales agent.

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