Cleavage Culture

‘‘Being booby is now more in than ever,’’ observes Bollywood stylist Shaahid Amir. Since he has dressed many handsome dudes from Arjun Rampal to Fardeen Khan, he knows the boys’ game better. Amir says there are at least two men in the industry who have had a boob job done too!

Mallika ‘17-smooch’ Sherawat is making sure hers attract a lot of attention in her debut Khwahish. But if she’s blasé about her “twin torpedos”, she attributes it to her icons. ‘‘If Marilyn Monroe, Liz Taylor, Sophia Loren and Salma Hayek can cash in on them, why shouldn’t I?’’ is her pert reaction.

So Sherawat takes good care of her assets by working out. ‘‘Incline, decline and regular bench presses, 40-50 pounds, four sets, with 15 repeats, four days a week’’.

For the lazy lot, there is the God-gifted Wonderbra that gives you at least two inches extra. There are also gel pouches used by the likes of Amrita Arora, Tara Sharma and, in some cases, AishwaryaRai. And bras with extra sponge or cotton padding. Ever wondered how a short-limbed Madhuri Dixit was so largely endowed? She would wear a stuffed bra even under a negligee, like in Dil To Pagal Hai.

Costume designers like Neeta Lulla have a hand in how much is enough. ‘‘Using different lingerie is the easiest way,” says Lulla. “While those not so generously endowed go for maximisers, bustier women use minimisers’’. Music video diva Shyla Lopez, industry gossip goes, is known to use minimisers to check her size, though you may not believe it if you saw the Bahon Mein Chale Aao video.

Lulla often plays around with necklines. She uses low-cut, ‘sweetheart’ necklines for the modestly endowed and higher, wider, cross fronts (“no boat necks please”) for the top heavy.

Lensman Atul Kasbekar thinks too much is being made about too little. ‘‘I showcase all shapes and sizes rather than the ridiculously uniform breasts which look like they’ve been made by the same doctor,’’ he says. His Kingfisher calender sure vouches for that.

As far as the Bollywood babes go, they’ve got us by the eyeballs.