As told to Ankita Chaurasia (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 2, 2019)

Sonam Kapoor introduced me to Shahid Kapoor while they were working together in Mausam. The film was our first collaboration. I remember giving him a white tuxedo for a song, he looked really handsome in it. Shahid likes classic cuts and timeless silhouettes which complement his good looks. You don’t have to overdo things with him, including several elements in the attire to play up his looks. Instead we would have fun playing with combinations. I’ve learnt that though dressy, tuxedos don’t have to be serious all the time, nor a shirt-pant or a tee-shirt-chino combo. With Shahid, it was about including one interesting element and keeping the rest of the look clean and uncomplicated.

Shahid has a quirky sense of humour which was reflected in our slogan tees. He also loves sneakers and we stocked up on a lot of them, to pair with different outfits. As a stylist, I keep a few things in mind while putting together a look. First, the body type and what works on it. Second, the personality of the actor, as most A-listers have a distinct identity they have worked hard to create. So, it’s important that their clothes should reflect that rather than my aesthetics.

Shahid is comfort-driven and likes to dress for the occasion. His style has not changed much, even after marriage. He has maintained a healthy mix of classics, casuals and quirky ensembles, and today, has a distinct voice.

Working on his wedding wardrobe was a lot of fun. We were so much in sync, that whenever we went shopping, we’d end up picking the same clothes. It was uncanny! He’s a sucker for tone-on-tone threadwork and I love it too so there was a lot of that. It was also the first time that we played with French knots and they became a huge hit. It was a non-traditional wedding look but worked so well, they set trends. I will cherish the experience all my life, more so because it was the first time I was designing for a wedding.




1. CHUTNEY COMBO: Shahid’s act, with Farhan Akhtar, for this event, was hilarious so we wanted the look to be playful. We did this chutney number in a well-tailored silhouette, and paired it with sneakers for a casual vibe.

2. ‘GROOM’ED: Shahid’s only brief was not to make the look ornamental, maximalist and Air India Maharaja-esque. Not many knew about the wedding, so, only a small team was working on his look. The jacket, with geometric detailing, was more panelled than a regular sherwani. We paired it with classic breach pants instead of a churidar.

3. MAN WITH A BUN: This look was created just when Shahid had started working on Udta Punjab. It immediately drew attention thanks to his man bun and eye make-up. At the time, I wanted to change the way Indian menswear looks, so the open kurta with texture-detailing and dhoop-chhaon thread-work on Patiala pants in a highly-reflective fabric.



4. GO GRUNGE: This was for a dream sequence song in R... Rajkumar. We incorporated layers of manly grunge for this kadi jacket with real kadis on the pockets. We used darker colours to complement the starkness of the Rann of Kutch.

5. MIX N’ MATCH: Shahid wore high-waisted pants and a kurtashirt with a cropped jacket for a show. He was sporting a stubble then and white looks good on him when he has the rugged look. We gave Mira an androgynous red co-ord set.

6. PIN-UP BOY: For Padmaavat promotions, we chose this black pinstriped kurta-shirt in handwoven handloom fabric. We teamed it with a churidar. An Indian look, with a global silhouette. We would work with a lot of blacks, whites and grays. Colours were in muted, washed out tones.

After Mumbai-based youngster files online petition opposing Bollywood’s misogynistic songs, IIFA promises to support her campaign in the upcoming awards edition
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; January 26, 2019)

Bollywood has been plagued with songs that reek of sexism, for long. But now, things may be headed for a change. Chandana Hiran, a Mumbai-based chartered accountancy student, has filed a petition with change.org opposing the misogynistic songs that are regularly churned out by the industry. She has also requested International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) to publicly condemn the objectification of women in Hindi film songs at its 2019 awards show — a move that has met with a positive response from the IIFA team.

Hiran says the idea to condemn the act publicly stemmed from a personal experience — recently, in a case of eve-teasing, several boys sang Kaddu Katega Toh Sab Mein Batega (R... Rajkumar, 2013) as she stepped out of the college, the innuendo of the song not lost on anybody. “I would often see kids in my family dance to these vulgar songs. I don’t want any child to be taught that it is okay to equate women to objects like Afghan Jalebi, Tandoori Murgi or Zandu Balm.”

Ask her why she approached IIFA to champion the cause, and she reasons, “The entire film fraternity attends this show, and millions tune in, making it the best gender-sensitive platform to send out a powerful message.”

Andre Timmins, director, Wizcraft International, producer and creator of IIFA, recently tweeted to the youngster assuring that appropriate action will be taken in the regard.

When we reached out to IIFA, the organisers said, “IIFA stands against any injustice or mistreatment, regardless of gender and hence, we replied positively to this campaign. Injustice against women is a major problem in the world. IIFA, as a platform, is trying to help make a difference to such causes.”

Lyricist Sameer, who has penned songs including Aa Re Pritam Pyaare (Rowdy Rathore) and Sarkailo Khatiya (Raja Babu), said, “Many times, artists are under pressure from makers to produce a certain type of song. I have immense respect for women and have never intentionally written anything which objectifies them. The onus also lies on the directors, in terms of how they shoot a song.”


Kaddu Katega from R...Rajkumar prompted Hiran to start petition

Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network

R...RAJKUMAR held well on Monday with collections in the 4.75-5 crore nett region. The film held up well all over with a very strong hold in CP Berar, CI and Rajasthan. The film is a big hit in these markets. The film was steady in East Punjab as well where it did not perform well over the weekend, the collections were low but the drop was less than 50% compared to Friday. The all India drop from Friday was 45% while some circuits showed just 35% drop.

The Maharashtra and Gujarat areas have also seen good collections since release and were solid on Monday. The total collections in four days are around 32.50 crore nett and the week should go to around 43 crore nett. The film is now set for a good two week run till the release of Dhoom 3 next Friday.