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Dipti Nair
Doha
Vikram Phadnis is a name synonymous with hi-fashion and couture. And after 27 years in the fashion business, and numerous awards to his name, it was not a surprise to see Qatar residents turn out in droves to watch the famous designer's latest collection at the recent Bollywood Fashion show held as part of the Shop Qatar festivities.
Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor walked the ramp for Phadnis in the eagerly-awaited show, packed with Bollywood fans. The Vikram Phadnis brand is known for its traditional Indian wear, though the designs he showcased on the Doha ramp had modern nuances.
"I typically do only traditional Indian clothes, but I got a brief from the Qatar Tourism Authority management that they wanted to do a mix between what I typically do and something modern. So, I have experimented a bit and tried to do something different from what the brand normally does. My designs here have newer silhouettes giving them a very different look. I'm really excited that this was the first time that the brand featured these kinds of designs on a runway," Phadnis stated.
While all his 25 designs had contemporary styling, the look worn by Kareena Kapoor was typical Indian bridal wear. Kapoor looked resplendent in a beautiful pink lehenga with intricate gold and floral embroidery. The focus being on soft pastel shades with minimal make-up and chunky jewellery.
Phadnis has designed for countless Bollywood movies and actresses over the years and Kapoor is someone he has dressed many times.
"I have had a long working relationship with Bebo (Kapoor). We go back to even before she became an actress as I designed the outfits for her first film Ajnabi. She can set any runway on fire with her presence. But what I like best about her is that she never oversteps what the fashion designer wants to do. There will always be an input but there will never be an 'I want'. I have done many movies and ads with her and she is one of the easiest girls to work with.
"I always feel when you have a runway show, it has to be dramatic. People do not want to just see models strutting up and down. It is the whole presentation the music, hair, make-up, lights that makes the show and not just the gowns," he added.
And certainly, his segment, with its stunning music, magnificent clothes and the gorgeous Kapoor was the most entertaining part of the show.
Born into a family of medical practitioners, Phadnis was all set to follow into the medical field when he decided to pursue his passion for entertainment and fashion instead and started working as a fashion choreographer. And even with no formal background or education, he found his calling as a fashion designer and started his own label. His brand took off and he was soon designing clothes for Bollywood movies. His name is associated with many Bollywood blockbusters and he has dressed most of the top actors and actresses in the industry. But he says that dressing up Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, with whom he worked for three movies, was the best moment of his life.
"I think the only time I got nervous was when I dressed up Mr Bachchan. That is the moment it sunk for me that I'm truly blessed and that I was doing something right. I don't think there is another person like him in the industry. Just working with him was so special. I have also worked with all the top actresses like Aishwarya (Rai Bachchan), Priyanka (Chopra), Katrina (Kaif) and others, and each experience has only taken my brand further. I am grateful for their inputs and the fact that they allowed me to work with them. The real challenge was making each actress look different. They all are competitors and working on movies at the same time, so it becomes vital that they look different and unique and that can get very challenging," said Phadnis.
But after 18 years of designing clothes for Bollywood films, four years back, he stopped doing movies, to concentrate on the exclusivity of his label and, to venture into a new path.
Phadnis took everybody by surprise last year when he decided to venture into filmmaking. Though an ace designer in Bollywood, he is a novice in the field of film direction and production but this did not deter him from moving out of his comfort zone and taking the plunge. Phadnis debuted as director and producer for the Marathi-language film titled Hrudayantar, which released in July last year. Hrudayantar is a drama about celebrating life and tugs at your emotions: a far cry from the masala films that Indian cinema is known for. The movie was critically appreciated and also received three international film festival nominations.
"When people heard I was making a movie, they thought it will be about fashion or with a lot of dance numbers and glamorous clothes. But it is has nothing to do with fashion. The film is about the journey of a woman with two children. I started writing 11 years back and I was writing this film for two-and-half years now and I'm very excited about how one thing led to another and it just snowballed into what it has become. It was well appreciated, in India and abroad, and now it is up for the state and national awards."
While the Marathi cinema market is currently booming, it was still a surprise for many that a top Bollywood designer had made his debut with not a large-scale Hindi production but a comparatively smaller Marathi one.
"My Hindi film never took off," said Phadnis candidly."I wrote the story in Hindi but the subject was so strong and hard-hitting that it was taking time to cast the film and manage the production angle. We have some great performers and artists in Marathi cinema today and many of the bigger Marathi films are now being remade in Hindi. So, I decided to make the film in Marathi rather than not do it at all."
Phadnis, however, confirms that his next film will definitely be in Hindi and it will happen either later this year or the next.
"I'm writing my next film now. It is once again not about fashion or entertainment but a hard-hitting subject. I believe a director needs to tell stories and this is a story I have been wanting to tell. But I was writing for 11 years before my first film happened, so who knows how much time the next one will take. But definitely a Hindi film is next."
But does this interest in movie-making mean that he is going to take a step back from fashion?
"No, I will never give up fashion," he asserts."The whole world has asked me if I'm giving up doing clothes. But that is something that has given me my bread and butter and I can never give it up. But yes, now that I have done my first film, I want to tell more stories and I won't give up on that either."
