New Delhi: He entered the film industry as a costume designer when the concept of “costume designing” was alien to many. Designer Manish Malhotra, who has enjoyed a successful run of 25 years in Bollywood, says the industry helped him evolve and gave him a platform to explore and experiment with his creativity.
“My journey has been unconventional; instead of mainstream designing, I started my career with film costume. The journey has been phenomenal, I have received tremendous response,” Malhotra said ahead of Amazon India Couture Week 2015 (AICW), which he closes with a show on August 2 in New Delhi.
“I came into an industry where the concept of costume design did not exist, but now it has become a very important part. Costume, in any Bollywood story, has always helped the director create characters visually, which with time, in its own way, has become an integral part of the film industry.”
The celebrated designer, whose tryst with designing for films began with Juhi Chawla starrer Swarg, says his journey comprised great experiences.
“Since the beginning, I was fond of watching Hindi films and was fascinated with the costumes worn by Bollywood actors. The film industry helped me evolve and gave me a platform to explore and experiment — I learnt my craft, travelled and met some great people across the globe,” he said.
Malhotra redefined and modernised costumes in films such as Rangeela, Raja Hindustani, Dil Toh Pagal Hai, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Mohabbatein, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and many more, giving some of Bollywood’s leading actresses makeovers that changed their fate in showbiz.
The favour was then returned as dressing stars such as Kajol, Karisma Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Rani Mukherjee, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (who will model in his show on August 2) earned him the tag of Bollywood’s favourite designer. And he rightfully credits each of them for their support.
“I would credit each and every person in Bollywood — from Sridevi to Rekha to Priyanka Chopra to Kareena Kapoor Khan to Parineeti Chopra to now dressing Mira Rajput [Shahid Kapoor’s wife] and many more. All have helped and supported me for so long... I would like to give credit to all actors for embracing the costumes I created for them,” he said.
Malhotra will have former beauty queen Rai Bachchan as the showstopper for his finale show at AICW 2015, a preview of his limited edition London label. The offsite show at The Leela will be an intimate evening with a 1950s vibe.
“Aishwarya will return to the runway after five years as the showstopper for my show... When it comes to doing limited edition and new beginnings, there is no one more global than Aishwarya.
“She is a true Indian beauty and known across the globe,” said Malhotra, who is also styling the actress for Karan Johar’s next directorial, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, among other projects.
“I’m currently working on Dilwale where I’m styling Kajol, ‘Ka & Ki’ for Kareena Kapoor Khan and Arjun Kapoor. We finished Bajrangi Bhaijaan where we styled Kareena Kapoor Khan; a Tamil film for Sridevi and Fitoor for Tabu,” he said.
2015 is an important year for him as it marks his silver jubilee in the film industry as well as a decade of his label Manish Malhotra, and he plans to continue the successful journey with the launch of London and Dubai stores in spring 2016.
He also plans to launch a menswear store in November in Delhi, where he already has a flagship store.
“The idea is to widen my horizons and come up with a lot more variations, interesting modern wear, gowns and new silhouettes,” he said.
