Manish Malhotra recalls big Bollywood producer telling him to make ‘chote chote kapde’ for heroines: ‘Kya itna discuss kar rahe ho?’
Designer Manish Malhotra reflected on his journey in Bollywood, in a chat with actor-turned-writer Twinkle Khanna. He spoke about his love for Sridevi, from whom he learned how to present himself to the public, and also discussed working with her daughter Janhvi Kapoor and the young generation of actors.
During the chat, posted on Twinkle’s Tweak India YouTube channel, Manish Malhotra also recalled some humorous exchanges that he had during his career as a Bollywood costume designer, particularly an instruction that producer Ramesh Taurani gave him.
About Sridevi, he said, “I’ve worked with her and learned so much. And after that, all the heroines I’ve worked with, I knew much more than them. I knew all the tricks of the trade.” Manish agreed with Twinkle that he ‘really came into the limelight’ after working with director Ram Gopal Varma on Rangeela. He did, however, clarify that wasn’t responsible for Jackie Shroff’s Speedo in Rangeela.
The designer said that he was excited to work with young filmmakers, who brought a sexiness to their work. “Because I started working with young directors who were fun, and wanted clothes that were glamorous and sexy, I loved working with Ramu and Urmila. She was such a determined person. All three of us wanted to make this happen, and it happened and how. It became a trend after that, because when I would go for discussions, I remember people used to say, ‘Why are we discussing clothes with you. Just make what you made in Rangeela’. I remember I was discussing something with the late Saroj Khan, and Ramesh Taurani was there. He said, ‘Kya itna discuss kar rahe ho? Aap waise kapde banao jaise aap banate ho, chote chote kapde (Why are we discussing this, you go ahead and make the kind of clothes you do, skimpy clothes)’.”
Twinkle revealed that before shooting a song for Badshaah, she survived on a diet of only ‘chanas’ because the clothes that Manish had designed wouldn’t fit her otherwise. Manish is now looking forward to making his directorial debut, with a film produced Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions.
