Jai Ho! HOLD ON TO YOUR BELIEFS AND LET THE WORLD COME CALLING ON YOUR TERMS, SAYS SABYASACHI MUKHERJEE
When work comes calling, it suddenly starts blowing its trumpet from every nook and corner in a way that it almost becomes impossible to ignore. On a harrowed day, with multiple show requests, important films, unfinished bridal business, I got a call from Vijayeta Kumar, A.R. Rahman’s stylist. She wanted an outfit from my Bridal Sutra collection for Rahman’s wife, Saira. My curious mind immediately asked the most inevitable question — what was A.R. Rahman wearing? She replied that it would most probably be a tuxedo. My first reaction was that of disbelief and disappointment, which quickly turned into aggression! I barraged Vijayeta with a number of questions — how? Why? For me, Rahman was a man who is a beacon of originality and talent, with a strong sense of being rooted in the soil where he has grown up. Being the kind of person he is, I knew that it was only international pressure that was pushing him towards that tux. He wouldn’t give it a damn! Vijayeta confessed that a lot of people, including some from the West, had advised him not to go the Indian route. To this, my reaction was that Rahman doesn’t need to conform to international style rules. The West only has to conform to his kind of music that itself borrows a lot from Indian folklore. At 5am on February 23, that also happened to be my birthday, I got an SMS from the studio that they loved the *sherwani* I made for Rahman and that he had chosen to wear an Indian outfit for the *Jai ho *performance. You have no idea how happy I was when I saw that morning that he even received both his Oscars in my *sherwani*! Which brings me to how India operates — whether it is music, fashion and films or even lifestyle. Somewhere down the line, a colonial hangover still looms menacingly in everything we choose to do or aspire to do. We are constantly looking for a validation from the West. Rahman wins two Oscars for *Slumdog Millionaire* but if we were to look at his body of work, his mantle should have been toppling over with Golden Globes, Grammies and Oscars! He has been making fantastic music from the day he started. India needs to realise that it has weapons in today’s day and world that not even the most nuclear-powerful country has. These weapons are history, heritage and culture. And India is stuck where it is today because we haven’t been able to use or mobilise these three weapons. Your positioning in society is a direct result of how you look at yourself. The whole world is intimated by the French. They want to be French. Do you know why? It’s because the French don’t want to be anyone else but themselves. A person with immense confidence and deep-rooted loyalty is someone who can strip his opponent naked in one second! So men who are dealing with high stakes in a boardroom in New York, being an Indian wearing a suit, you are already dealing from a point of subjugation! Bapu said he wanted to integrate India through clothing; I really understand the meaning now. Your clothing is an exterior manifestation of who you really are. If Freida Pinto chose to wear a sari while trotting on the reddest carpets she wouldn’t have been referred to as an ‘it’ girl. It’s sad because ‘it’ girls only last for a season. She would have otherwise immediately catapulted into super-stardom. And I’m sure that a lot of Indians have influenced her not to wear a sari but when a person chooses not to address their roots in fear of being slotted or categorised, the person has lost half the battle in being able to position himself/herself. There are many terms that have come and gone in fashion. Initially, it was being global. Then it became global-local. I think that’s enough. It’s like a basic relationship mantra — take your stand and let them come to you rather than you going to them. It is only then that you will be able to strike the best deal. And in the entire Oscar drama, for me there is one real hero, and that is Rahman’s wife Saira. To be in a super achiever’s shadow and yet not get swayed by immense pressure of walking down a red carpet is admirable. She held on to her beliefs, tradition and religion with her head (and veil) firmly in place. A lot of people might look at it as regressive but I think the world is fraught with insecurities. I think it is just super progressive. It’s just incidental that I made her outfit. * Are you proud of dressing desi? Tell [email protected] **http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090309/jsp/entertainment/story_10644580.jsp * -- regards, Vithur
