Comfort is the key fashion word for me: Sharmila Tagore

Fashion often taken its cues from cinema. Especially in India, where Bollywood enjoys a larger-than-life presence! The actress was present in Delhi for unveiling Diva’ni’s Made In Cinema collection, where she engaged in an interesting talk titled, “Does cinema inspire fashion or vice-versa”? She said, “I think cinema has always been a defining factor for the fashion sense of a common man. During the black-and-white era there were only a handful of designers including Bhanu Athaiya, Leena Daru and others. Gradually, with the advent of colour, fashion reached to a different level. Indian clothes were mainly in real zari at that time, which is now quite prohibited and designs were exquisite. Bhanu Athaiya crafted that special layered saree drape that became famous as the Mumtaz saree. I remember my knotted blouses in Waqt directed by Yash Chopra, which made me feel quite gawkish then, but now I realise they translated into wearable trends.”

Comfort is what matters for her, when it comes to dressing. “Comfort is my key fashion word. I mostly like wearing chiffons, which is an ideal fabric for summers. I don’t like adorning too much jewellery and I believe being underdressed is much better and elegant than being overdressed and being laughed at. Although, when we dress up for the films, the character has to be kept into account. Also, there is a certain expectation that fans have from you, so one has to look as much glamorous as possible,” she added.

Ever wondered as to why television celebrities sleep wearing concealers and mat lipsticks! Sharmila quickly added, “It is a medium which reaches out to the maximum audience and a great segment of people identifies with it and the inspirational quality of that medium. Television soaps have their own power dynamics with kitchen being the centre stage; there is a major section in India that identifies with it and wants to emulate the same in their personal lives.”

Recollecting her days when she worked with Oscar-winning designer Bhanu Atahiya, Sharmila said, “She is one of the immensely talented designers I have worked with. She would do sketches and would come up with original designs. From costume designing for Attenborough’s Gandhi to her the youthful checked frocks of Bobby, she created some of the most fantastic trends.”

The changing storylines and the slow disappearance of the archetypical vamp soon saw the emergence of a new kind of heroine with a more westernised wardrobe hitherto reserved for the vamp. The era gave rise to several trends that translated from the reel to real life. She added, “Be it the popular Sadhana cut hairstyle, puffed sleeves or my knotted blouses became quite a rage with fans. A costume designer was not readily available at that time. The heroines used to sit with the whole team for hours to create a ‘look’ according to the character they were portraying. Earlier it was not about wearing a brand but ‘look’ was the primary focus. Today, with media ruling our lives it is more about wearing what is in trend rather than creating a trend.”