Dress The Part

It’s an envious list of ladies – Priyanka Chopra,Aishwarya Rai,Katrina Kaif,Sushmita Sen,Bipasha Basu,Ayesha Takia,Malaika Arora,Amrita Arora,Karisma Kapoor…and he’s dressed them all! Bollywood’s A-list designer Vikram Phadnis surely has a way with the ladies and for 17 years he’s been quite a charmer,with his collections that is. Be it Priyanka Chopra’s glitzy costumes in ‘Mujhse Shaadi Karogi’ or the glamorous outfits Ayesha Takia wore in ‘Salaam-e-Ishq’,this once upon a time choreographer turned designer has taken Bollywood fashion to new heights from the days he did ‘Biwi No. 1’. “Surprisingly,I have always designed for comedy movies,most of which have been directed by David Dhawan,” points out Phadnis,who was in the city to participate in the Blenders Pride Magical Nights Tour. Coming to Chandigarh with his clubwear collection that’s high on bling,Phadnis spoke about the last time he was in the city. “We were shooting for Vipul Shah’s Namaste London with Katrina and Akshay,” informs the designer who refuses to rate the style quotient of any city. “Each place has its own distinct personality. I remember using many local inputs when styling Katrina for her character in Namaste London,” Vikram explains. Speaking of Bollywood,the designer has spent over a year working on the outfits for Sushmita Sen for the forthcoming film ‘Dulha Mil Gaya’. “I was so happy to be working with Sushmita after Biwi No.1 and in ‘Dulha Mil Gaya’ she plays a supermodel. Given her role,dressing her up meant the sky was the limit,” Vikram smiles to say. Interestingly,he’s also working on his debut script which he hopes to direct in the coming year.

Alongside he’s been working on costumes for Rohit Shetty’s rib-tickler ‘All the best’ which is a run-up to ‘Golmaal’ and ‘Golmaal Returns’. “The best part about doing a comic film is that the look of an actor is not character-driven. It gives me a free hand,but at the same time the wide canvas can be equally challenging,” mentions Phadnis. Speaking of challenges,for Vikram it was ‘Salaam-e-Ishq’ that put his creative abilities to test. “I spent two years of my life putting together 800 costumes for the film. From the leading actors to the dance troupes,everyone got to wear clothes designed by me,” says Phadnis,who also dressed up the men on screen including Salman Khan who he rates as ‘The’ style icon of Bollywood. As for the ladies,he says it’s a forever changing list. Just like fashion.