The Hours

THE brief: Look elegant, classy and stylish. Preparation time: Usually, a day. The problems: A million8212;from sudden tears to last-minute rashes. It8217;s a tough job dressing up a star on her premiere night.

8216;8216;It8217;s one of the most special occasions in your life, especially if it8217;s your debut film,8217;8217; says actress Sushama Reddy, who turned heads at the premiere of Chocolate. Reddy outshone her co-stars in a gold Neeta Lulla sari and a sexy blouse that showed off her perfect back.

Although her look in the film was Western chic with highlighted curls, she ditched them on D-day. 8216;8216;My wild curls look too Western for a sari, so I ironed my hair,8217;8217; says Reddy, who kept her accessories to a bare minimum to avoid looking like a Christmas tree. And since she didn8217;t want to tower over the crowd, she chose beige sequinned mojris for a comfortable, quiet tread.

Designer Reza Shariffi will vouch that the sari is a hot favourite these days for premiere-wear. 8216;8216;It makes a woman look graceful and she can choose to look either grand or sexy,8217;8217; says the man who has dressed Shilpa Shetty, Priyanka Chopra, Madhuri Dixit and Kim Sharma in saris for their big filmi evenings. While some of his clients give him a generous five days to come up with something original, others expect him to cough up a completely accessorised outfit in less than 24 hours.

Sharma, who8217;s usually in jeans or tiny skirts, draped a heavily embroidered sari because, 8216;8216;I love saris, so what better occasion than a premiere?8217;8217; She wore her mother8217;s rubies since her film Taj Mahal was also a period piece.

For some, the issue of sari versus the world is a question of geography. For the premiere of Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena, actress Koena Mitra turned out in a glittering Gavin Miguel churidar-kurti. 8216;8216;Had the premiere been in London, I8217;d have worn a gown. Had it been in Kolkata, I would8217;ve asked Sabyasachi for one of his bright saris,8217;8217; she says. 8216;8216;But in Mumbai, what works best is Indo-Western.8217;8217; Her never-fail mantra: Play up the eyes with kohl.

Most stars try to make a style statement at a premiere8212;and it has nothing to do with the real self. 8216;8216;Since the entire industry is present, the idea is to play down your weakness and showcase your assets8212;be it your face or your figure,8217;8217; says Lulla, a favourite with Aishwarya Rai, Rani Mukerji and Amisha Patel for pre-release evening wear.

In the case of theme premieres, it8217;s challenging to look different without sticking out like a sore thumb. But Sophie had no such problems at the baraat-theme premiere of her debut Shaadi No 1. 8216;8216;I knew I didn8217;t want to look completely dulhan, and I wanted something younger and trendier than a sari,8217;8217; says Sophie, who wore a Rocky S lehenga-choli, with her grandmother8217;s jewellery to bring in 8216;8216;the Indian wedding feel8217;8217;. Her favourite make-up artist, Anil Chinappa, popularly known as Bondu, got into action and used baby oil to get some glow on Sophie8217;s back, abs and cleavage.

As premiere evenings turn into full-fledged, highly visible red carpet events, with budgets that climb to lakhs, designers now have a whole new fashion market to cater to.