Choli 2005

After years of the kurti, this is the year of the choli,8217;8217; says designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee. And, he adds, we have Bollywood to ...

After years of the kurti, this is the year of the choli,8217;8217; says designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee. And, he adds, we have Bollywood to thank for that, as 8216;8216;mainstream fashion is heavily influenced by films8217;8217;.

If we8217;re talking film fashion, Manish Malhotra is definitely a big influence. For Bipasha Basu in Barsaat, he took the sporty racerback and gave it a sexy twist. 8216;8216;After designing for 1,000 films, I had a thirst to do something different,8217;8217; he says of the choli with the ink-blue crescents.

Since she went the Bollywood way, model Sushama Reddy8217;s been doing what all starlets do8212;shopping at designer Neeta Lulla8217;s Mumbai store for premiere wear. She picked out a backless bustier with delicate sequinned straps criss-crossing her back. 8216;8216;The gold colour looks great on her complexion and the design8217;s neither OTT, nor understated,8217;8217; says Lulla. She says that the demand for in-your-face cholis is so great that if she ever designs traditional styles, it8217;s only because they8217;ve been specially ordered. Fashion8217;s version of reverse snobbery?

Choli champs

Anna Singh: She gave Madhuri the Rajasthani choli in Khalnayak, and the purple blouse with the covered midriff but bare back in Hum Aapke Hain Koun8230;!
Neeta Lulla: The short, puffed-sleeve authentic Bengali cholis for Aishwarya in Devdas spawned many copycats
Subarna Ray Chaudhuri: Vidya Balan8217;s subtle and delicate lace-edged blouses in Parineeta were a classic statement
Aki Narula: His traditional-front but low-backed choli for Ash in Kajra Re is the current flavour

Another bound back that caught the flashbulbs was Lisa Ray8217;s at the Toronto Film Festival. The Wendell Rodricks-designed white and silver sari-gown got Ray a position on the festival8217;s best-dressed list alongside names like Johnny Depp. 8216;8216;My inspiration was the backless choli,8217;8217; Rodricks says. He brought the front down to the waist8212;so there8217;s no peeping midriff8212;attached a pre-stitched sari bottom, draped the pallu to emphasise the back, and added a Greek touch with silver girdling around the middle.

Another one who8217;s perpetually inspired by the sari blouse is Anna Singh8212;Bollywood8217;s choli veteran. Her portfolio8217;s got winners like Madhuri8217;s Rajasthani look in Khalnayak8217;s Choli ke Peeche and the purple diamond-backed one in Hum Aapke Hai Koun8230;! For now, she8217;s designed a sari collection based on Lara Dutta8217;s personal style, which will sell out of fashion store Kimaya, Delhi. 8216;8216;I dressed Lara for the Mangal Pandey8212;The Rising premiere in a sari that was draped in a very different way. She carried it off so well that I was inspired to design this collection,8217;8217; Singh says. The cholis for the line come in the form of bra tops, tube-style blouses, short and boned corsets.

8216;8216;The choli is now become open to interpretation, it8217;s no longer just an accessory to the sari,8217;8217; Rodricks says. 8216;8216;Interesting backs like halters or racers are in,8217;8217; votes Malhotra, while Lulla8217;s pushing corsets, bikini tops and jewellery-backed blouses. Rodricks says even a T-shirt can be worn as a choli8212;8216;8216;it just depends on how modern or glam you want your sari to look8217;8217;.

Mukherjee draws out a detailed blueprint for sari lovers. 8216;8216;Cholis, in long and short formats, are now a replacement for T-shirts. Blouses that cover part of the midriff should be backless, the shorter ones should have long, ruched sleeves,8217;8217; he says. And since the mood at parties these days is Indian retro, Mukherjee advises you to shimmy into cholis with floral, Oriental or geometric prints, all embellished with a traditional border.