Jack of all trades

Be it designing,styling or directing movies,Manish Malhotra wants a slice of every pie.

It is difficult to get hold of Manish Malhotra. If he is not styling an A-list Bollywood actress for her upcoming movie,hes styling another A-lister for a special public appearance. In between,he also finds time to be a fashion designer,with shows in Mumbai and Delhi. His next big assignment is the Lakme Fashion Week’s grand finale show on August 21. Its going to be a fresh take on what I do best. It will be all you expect from me,but you’ll still be surprised, he says. Its exhausting to listen to him rattle off his tasks for the day,week and month,but Malhotra finds enough time to fit in all his projects he has written a script and wants to direct a movie next year. And the secret for this unbelievable time-management? He says its his passion for work. I take on so much work simply because I want to do it all, he adds.

Malhotra is currently one of the best-selling designers in the country,well-known for his opulent bridalwear. Its a rare combination of talent,luck and hard work that has got him where he is. Pradeep Hirani,owner of fashion retail chain Kimaya,says,Ive known Manish for 19 years and he’s proved himself to be one of the most focused people I know of. Hes talented and consistent. One of his biggest achievements is that he has given the Mumbai fashion scene a face on the national stage. Until he came along,biggest designers of the country were from Delhi.

Malhotra admits hes been lucky with the kind of support he got. I had my familys support throughout,even when I made the unlikely decision at 21 to become a film stylist, he laughs,I was never the one for studies. I passed my science tests simply because I could sketch diagrams well.

The ability to sketch held him in good stead when he made the leap to Bollywood. There was no consistency in the looks of the characters at that time. In one scene,they would have short hair; in the next,it would be long, he exclaims. One of his first assignments was the 1993 film Gumraah,where he gave Sridevi the famous short haircut. His work got noticed two years later with Rangeela,with an impressive makeover for Urmila Matondkar. However,what consolidated his position in the industry was the success of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995),Raja Hindustani (1996) and Dil Toh Pagal Hai (1997).

His transition to fashion is something Malhotra is very proud of. Im the first stylist to get into fashion designing. Usually,the opposite happens, he says. His friends from the film industry supported his decision and also ensured his big debut at the LFW in 2000.

In the last 10 years that he participated in the fashion week,hes been a Grand Finale designer twice. He represents the perfect blend of international sensibilities with an Indian soul. So he becomes a natural choice for the Lakme Grand Finale, says Farida Kaliyadan,general manager at Lakme.

According to Malhotra,the reason hes managed to stay relevant in both the fashion and the film worlds is because of his ability to stay updated. Even the younger actresses love working with me because they know I will give them a contemporary look.

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When it comes to designing,Malhotra has faced criticism for refusing to budge out of his comfort zone of bridal and festive wear. He bristles at the mention of this. I have a signature look. Asking me to do something different is like asking Gucci to do Armani. Im known for a certain kind of dramatic and opulent creations. Im developing a brand DNA. Right now,everyone is pointing fingers,but in a few years,they will understand the importance of having a signature look.

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