Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; August 1, 2019)

Amitabh Bachchan is known as much for his sartorial elegance as he is for his towering performances. Whether it’s a casual outing or formal, the superstar is always on point. As the host of Kaun Banega Crorepati, the Big B looks dapper in his perfectly-tailored suits, blazers, quirky ties and formal scarves. Every season, AB introduces a new fashion element. If it was the brooch pins on ties last year, the upcoming season will see him sporting different types of tie knots.

Priya Patil, who has been styling him for seven years and personally designing since the last two years, says that she starts the season with a style guide. “It has a broad outlook of how the look will be and then we decide the details from there. I introduced the three-piece suit last year, which he had never worn before on the show. But, it was his suggestion to add brooch pins on ties. It had come from the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The Prince had sported it. Initially, I found it difficult to find it in the fashion stores, but after Prince Harry introduced it and Bachchan wore it in the promo of KBC, it became a trend within a week’s time, and shops started stocking it. This year, we will continue with the three-piece suit, but will experiment with different techniques of tie knots like the Eldredge knot, Trinity knot, Rose knot, Resurrection knot, etc.”

The cloth of his suits is imported from Italy as the Big B likes to wear those that have 120 thread count. “The fabric has a nice fall and I look for checks and solid colours. Even the buttons are imported. We do a lot of trials and fittings,” says Priya.

The best part about designing for the superstar, she says, is that he is open to everything. “He likes the classic look and considering the format of the show, it works best and he looks great. Bachchan likes to wear deep colours such as black and wine, which he carries very well. Keeping that in mind, we also play around with the accessories. This time, we will do detailing on lapel pins as well, but that’s minimalistic,” she says, signing off.

Pooja with the doppelgangers; Farah poses with the fake Queen

Housefull 4 took off in London with a song that had not just big names from B-town, but also lookalikes from Buckingham Palace
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 18, 2018)

The fourth instalment of the Housefull franchise kicked off in the Queen’s City last weekend with a song. Sajid Khan who had directed Part 1 and 2 before handing over the baton to Sajid-Farhad, has returned to the series and his sister, Farah Khan, choreographed the first song.

It was a full house with Akshay Kumar, Kriti Sanon, Bobby Deol, Pooja Hegde, Riteish Deshmukh and Kriti Kharbanda grooving to Farah’s cues. But what gave the song its twist were doppelgangers of the royal family which included the Queen, Elizabeth II, her son Prince Charles and his better half, Camilla Parker Bowles, the Duchess of Cornwall, along with grandsons, Prince William and Prince Harry with their respective wives, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle.

The song was shot over four days for the Sajid Nadiadwala and Fox Star Studios production and is a Sohail Sen composition. Speaking to Mirror from London, an excited Farah informed that they had got the royal doubles to shake a leg too, with the Prince Charles lookalike even crooning Hindi lyrics. “The Queen and Charles were my favourites from the original and Housefull 2. Sadly, they were missing in the third part so I decided to bring them back in a song,” she pointed out, applauding the artistes for making the effort to learn the Hindi chorus, along with the dance steps.

A source from the sets added that the team shot across London, including the House of Lords and Kensington Palace, besides some famous streets and buses which were blocked off for the day.

After a 25-day schedule in London, the Housefull 4 team will be heading to Rajasthan for the second schedule in August. Revolving around the theme of reincarnation, the film follows a non-linear narrative and all the flashback sequences will be shot in Rajasthan. A lavishly mounted set is being built in Mumbai for the finale. Chunky Panday, Johnny Lever, Boman Irani and Nana Patekar are also a part of the House.