Picture this!

Both Sarah Berry's piece on Hollywood fashion in the 1930s and Iris Young's article on the connection between the meaning of clothes and pictorial representations of the same got me thinking about the relationship between Bollywood films and sartorial styles which, of late, has transcended the screen-style influence to enter the zone of celebrity fashion i.e. what the stars are wearing in their daily lives.

Historically speaking, much like its western counterparts, Indian cinema has enjoyed a semi-reverential status where on-screen fashion is concerned, especially in the eyes of its female audiences. It was not uncommon for an entire generation of college going women to embrace the prevailing style of popular actresses with little concern regarding uniqueness. As Hindi cinema progressed, costuming and wardrobe evolved to an extent where it started functioning as a promotional vehicle for the film in question --the 1994 film Hum Aapke Hain Kaun proudly publicized the $3500 price tag for one of the outfits worn by its female lead, Madhuri Dixit; Devdas (2002), touted at the time as the most expensive Bollywood film ever to be made wowed audiences more for the extravagant costumes donned by the leading ladies rather than the film itself. As an attestation to the increasing participation of the upper social classes in popular film culture, the 2003 film Chameli (the story of an unabashed prostitute essayed by glamorous Kareena Kapoor) spawned off a veritable flood of Chameli themed parties for women where all the guests would turn up attired in versions of the kitschy outfit that Kapoor wears in the film, in open defiance to the fact that they were, through their clothes, enacting the role of a prostitute!










Kareena Kapoor as Chameli in the 2003 film of the same title.





As Indian fashion enters the big league, professional styling in mainstream cinema is fast becoming the norm. The garish, often bordering on outlandish, costumes are disappearing in favor of a contemporary, chic sensibility that demonstrates an awareness of the film's theme and setting in costume designing. Acting has acquired somewhat respectable overtones and today's actors & actresses are an educated, well traveled bunch, well in tune with the prevailing global sensibility regarding fashion and appearance. For some this means recruiting personal stylists while for others a much greater attention to dressing in general, whether for film related functions or not. Fashion brands across the world have come calling to this new breed of stars who have the need to be seen as 'with it' and the money to afford it.

An offshoot of this is the numerous blogs that have popped up on Bollywood fashion. My personal favorite is www.higheelconfidential.com-- a sassy, irreverent take on Bollywood celebrity fashion that spares no punches when commenting on unfortunate fashion choices. The blog is popular in part because it gives users a forum to air their opinions on Bollywood stars, putting them on pedestals one moment while relegating them to the fashion trenches in another. The sense of community this fosters reminds me of Irigaray (qtd. in Young) who speaks of community building as a response to male patriarchy. I wonder what light would this blog be viewed in, considering that the dominant form of pleasure gained from this online community of women (who are clearly fans of fashion and films) seems to be the unequivocal right to voyeuristically consume and criticize.