Mutton dressed as lamb

In its dress code, as in so much else, Tellywood believes that nothing succeeds like excess. Or as designer Hemant Trivedi says, The outf...

In its dress code, as in so much else, Tellywood believes that nothing succeeds like excess. Or as designer Hemant Trivedi says, “The outfits on television are always over the top. They should opt for understated elegance.” Well, style gurus may feel that way but some TV stars are quite happy with the way they look and dress.

Take Seema Kapoor, well-known for her heavily-decked, excessively made-up look in Ek Aur Mahabharat. “I like the way I look,” she insists, “We are not really over-dressed, we dress according to the mood, age and character.” She believes that TV stars must be a little more glamourous than the average person since that attracts the viewer to tune in. She does not think there was anything peculiar with Savi (the character she played in Hasratein) leaving her house in heavily-embroidered outfits, first thing in the morning. It was just the trappings of glamour.

A fact that clothing companies seem to cash in on. Sheetal, for instance, sponsors three shows on the box — Close-up Antakshari, Sa Re Ga Ma (both on Zee) and Star Yaar Kalakar on Sony. “People watch the shows, then ring up and ask — can we order the outfit that Pallavi Joshi wore on the last show,” reveals Sheetal’s Lopa Shah.

Normally, a costume sponsor provides clothes according to what the TV serials’ costume designers feel will be appropriate. But Seema says that there are times when the sponsor gets it totally wrong. “On one show the sponsor sent all the clothes in velvet! We had to change the sponsor.”

According to Balaji Production’s Ekta Kapoor, a star can be just as difficult as a sponsor. “Actresses can be very fussy and insist on new clothes all the time,” she reveals. Also, there can be a problem with the channel. For her show Hum Paanch (Zee), she has a costume sponsor but not for Itihaas on DD, since DD does not permit credit lines to the sponsor.

Ekta, too, justifies opting for the overdressed look. “Ambience is very important for a serial. And the masses want to see people heavily decked- up.” In fact, for one of her serials, Ekta had to collect over 800 saris.

Shekhar Suman is one star who takes his sartorial appearance very seriously and is personally responsible for his clothes on TV. For a while he favoured only double-breasted suits. As the anchor of Film Deewane (Zee) he went through 150 suits, mostly double-breasted, because he felt that they, well, suited him! Now, in keeping with the times, he’s hung up the double-breasted suit and opted for the more hip-looking three-buttoned suit. “We are role models and the way you look is an essential part of that,” he believes. He prefers the semi-formal look but doesn’t like scarves and cravats which may explain why he often wears a suit with a T-shirt. Suman doesn’t think the men on the box over-dress. “The guys are quite casual”. And what about the women? “The girls are often over-dressed,” he says.

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Pallavi Joshi gladly admits that she looks a little garish. And how. “But that is part of television’s allure,” she thinks. Often, she discovers she has to wear outfits she doesn’t like. “I do not like wearing salwar kameez but for television I sometimes have to wear them,” she admits.

In the West, Hollywood is where the glitter glows and television is where reality resides. In India, “films are a major influence on TV,” comments Pallavi, “and they are getting more glamourous so this rubs off on TV.”