The great Indian wedding lehenga



Italian lace, Parisian semi-precious stones, love poems embroidered on the pleats of the skirt...
the chase for the showstopper lehenga is sending New-Age brides across the globe
The great Indian wedding saga is going through a major sartorial twist ­ the pursuit of the exclusive, customised, bridal lehenga. Gone are the days of recce at Chandni Chowk or at designer stores. New-Age brides are leaving no pleat unturned -from any corner of the world -for that showstopper outfit.
BREATHLESS IN PURSUIT

For #Instabrides, the perfect wedding lehenga is a project in itself. Los Angeles-based bride Jasleen Kaur, 25, made five trips to Delhi to finalise her bridal lehenga. It took nine months and cost her `1 crore! “Between several designs and Whatsapp messages, my lehenga was created to per fection,“ says Kaur.

The pressure to stand out has reached mammoth proportions in the age of social media. In a bid to outdo each another, Indian brides are discovering refreshing original ideas. Fashion designer Kresha Bajaj designed her own lehenga, with detailing of her entire love story. It took her months to embroider the piece, which depicts important mile stones in her relationship. Says Bajaj, “I didn't want to get bored looking at my lehenga, that would mean getting bored looking at my love story. We are the so cial media brides. We document every moment of our lives and I wanted my lehenga to be unique.“

Bangalore-based bride Tanvi Mahajan scanned Instagram brides and several de signers for the perfect lehenga. “I took printouts, and went to 19 top bridal de signers and outlets in the country. It took four months before I shortlisted my out fit, which took another seven months to make (including four trial fittings).“

LURE OF LEHENGA

The bridal lehenga remains highly lucrative for most Indian design ers, who are cashing in on the growing $20 million Indian wedding industry.

Says designer Suneet Varma, “The search for the perfect wedding lehenga has gotten super competitive in the last few years. Today's brides know their mind. They come with files and printouts of what their dream outfit should look like. They come well-prepared and well-researched.“

It's not just about designs. From how-to-wear lehenga classes that teach you how to walk, dance and jump around in a lehenga, to lessons in howto-change-into-two lehen gas for different looks, in two hours ­ the bridal lehenga story has taken a different turn.

MERA WALA PINK

For eg, one bride whose family had always worn pink at weddings, wanted Varma to create a shade of pink that nobody had ever seen before! He says, “The economics has also changed. Brides want lace from Italy, embroidery from Rajasthan, which takes craftsmanship and time, and they don't shy from spending `6 lakh to 15 lakh for a lehenga!“ One bride wanted fresh flowers infused with zardozi on her lehenga for a vintage look. Says designer Leena Singh, “I told her to go for 3D flowers on her lehenga. Another wanted her outfit to have the patterns of the inlay work of Taj Mahal! It took us over 10 months to work on the outfit.“

In her book, Quest for the Dress: Finding Your Dream Gown Without Losing Your Sanity, Friends, or Groom, author Nancy Di Fabbio writes how there's an entire industry trying to help brides find their dream dress without losing their sanity in the process.

Designer JJ Valaya thinks that this trend will only become bigger in the future. “The wedding lehenga is witnessing the calm before the storm.The aspiration for the perfect lehenga is being redefined by the Instageneration brides.“

COMPOSING FOR THE MONSOON WEDDING MUSICAL

COMPOSING FOR THE MONSOON WEDDING MUSICAL HAS INSPIRED ME TO WRITE PLAYS: VISHAL BHARDWAJ



When Vishal Bhardwaj and Mira Nair set out to work on a Broadway adaptation of her 2001 release Monsoon Wedding, little did Vishal know that this experience will finally lead him to start writing plays ­ something that has been in the pipeline for long, especially after he directed the opera A Flowering Tree, which premiered in Paris in 2014. Vishal tells us that composing for the musical, that is currently running housefull at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in California, was more liberating than composing for a film.
THEATRE HAS INSPIRED ME TO WRITE MORE PLAYS'

Sharing with us his theatre experience, Vishal says, “Even before directing the opera, I had written lyrics for a play by Naseeruddin Shah in Mumbai. I have done backstage work at the National School of Drama too, when my friends used to work there, so I was acquainted with theatre. But I didn't know the joy of doing theatre until I worked on this musical.“

Vishal says the experience was different from that of making films. “When I directed an opera, I realised the difference between theatre and films. In theatre, you have limited space to create a scene, so one has to be more creative and imaginative. The theatre audience is more accepting and they believe in what you put out there. You also get more liberty to express yourself in theatre than in films. After doing an opera, mera bahut man tha ki main aage bhi stage direction karun. After doing the Monsoon Wedding musical, I feel that more strongly . I also want to write plays. There are so many stories, social, political issues and subjects on which you can't make films. Making films on such topics puts you under a lot of pressure, you need big money and a star to justify that money. All these ideas come to me when I am out of Mumbai, but when I go back to Mumbai, I get busy with the usual things. But this time, I am making a conscious effort to work on it.“

`COMPOSING MUSIC FOR BROADWAY WAS MORE LIBERATING THAN COMPOSING FOR MY OWN FILMS'

Vishal composed around 40 songs for the musical, of which 21 are part of the final production. He tells us that working with Mira, “not as a composer, but as a partner to the musical“, was a great experience. “It was a great experience working with Mira and the medium is new for both of us. We became good friends while exploring it together. In our industry , we do not make musicals like Chicago. So as a composer, I got a chance to do something which I was not doing even in my films, so it was great fun. When we create music for Bollywood films, there is so much pressure to create hit songs ­ they should be popular and hit irrespective of the film.It doesn't matter if the song fits the story or not, it should just work with the audience. That sometimes deviates you from real music. You feel much more liberated when working on a musical.“

About how he adapted to writing music for English lyrics, Vishal says, “Sometimes, when I was composing, the lyricist, Susan Birkenhead, who is also a senior poet, would write an English poem, then I would change my music's expression as per those lyrics. Initially it was difficult for me as I had not composed for English lyrics, but as I got the hang of it, my Indian musical expression combined with English lyrics, creating an unique experience. Gale ki harkatein Indian hai, par language English hai. It had the risk of sounding funny , so I had to be very careful. Also, whenever there was an emotional situation or a conflict in the story , we had to musicalize it, and that was very interesting. In the Broadway language, a script is called a book, so whenever there were two pages of dialogues in the book, we needed a song. We also wrote a song to explain Shefali Shah's character in the film, who was subject to abuse in her childhood. This is the kind of music you don't usually get to make.“

Vishal adds, “I was not working as a direc tor after a long time. Usually the director has the last ally the director has the last word, and here I was not the director, woh bhi bada maza aaya mujhe, I got to observe another director. I also now know what people talk about backstage (laughs). The other good thing of a Broadway musical is that the author has the same powers as the director, which is rare. So, there are three authors for a musical ­ lyricist, composer and the book writer, and they have the equal amount of say , power and creative liberty . This was actually very exciting to me that I am not a hired person, I am a partner to the project.“

Vishal says the only experience that comes close to this was composing Bismil from Haider. “I have been saying this that I became a director so that I can employ myself as a composer, jis tarah ke gaane mai banana chah raha tha woh kahin nahi thay. Jaise Haider ka woh gaana hai Bismil Bismil, us tarah ka situation milna impossible hai kisi film mein. That song has the feel of a Broadway musical, where a song explains the story , the plot,“ says Vishal.

`WE WANT TO BRING THE MONSOON WEDDING MUSICAL TO INDIA'

Before a musical hits Broadway , it is staged at another high-end venue, so that improvisations can be made to it. During its run at Berkley , Vishal had a special guest, filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, who wanted to come and watch the Musical.“He lives in California, where the Berkeley Repertoire theatre is. Berkeley is most prestigious in California and I got a mail that it has broken all records. Francis Coppola contacted the theatre and watched the musical and he loved it. I have a prior connection with him ­ 10 years back, he had to shoot something in Mumbai, we have a common friend and he contacted me. We (his company) shot for him since he was unable to come to Mumbai, so when I met him I told him that we had worked together. He was very happy after watching the musical and said, `Bring more Indianness to America, this is so unique to Americans.' He also gave some suggestions to Mira and told her that something like Monsoon Wedding is an unseen and unheard scenario in America, so do it as much as possible,“ Vishal tells us. After the musical hits Broadway , the plan is to bring it to India. “We want to create this musical in Hindi and everything will be live on stage, something that the audience here hasn't seen in musicals, it is usually recorded music.“

CHOOSE NECKLACES THAT WORK FOR YOUR NECKLINE



So, you have your out fit, shoes and bag all sorted. But have you given a thought to which necklace you should wear?
Finding the perfect neckpiece to wear can be daunting because wearing the wrong accessory could mar the beauty of the top you are sporting. Wearing the right jewellery -be it contemporary or traditional -can really uplift your overall appearance.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when you are choosing the necklace you want to wear.

V-NECK TOPS

Repeating the shape of your neckline is one of the simplest tricks to nail this look.Choosing to wear a v-shaped slim pendant is a good idea.This neckline is perfect to show off your pretty pendants. V-shaped chunky necklaces that draw attention to your cleavage also work. You must make sure that the neck-piece you wear finishes at least an inch above the `V'. A simple strand of pearls will also look good and give an understated, classy look.

COLLARED SHIRT

Usually a slim choker or chain with a small pendant goes well with your collared button-ups.You can also pair them with statement necklaces, to get that unbeatable subtle, yet striking, look.

STRAPLESS DRESSES OR TUBE TOPS

Though chokers are most flattering when worn with strapless outfits, usually all kinds of jewellery complement this timeless neckline. Pair your strapless top with a contemporary choker. The straight cut of the outfit shows off your necklace and also helps give your neck a slender look by elongating it.

SCOOP NECKS

There are a variety of necklace styles that complement this neckline. Dramatic multi-strand pearls, stones, crystal necklaces or chokers look great with scooped out necklaces. Contemporary and delicate `Y' necklaces, or ones with stunning pendants also work well with scooped out necklines. When you are wearing a dress with a scooped out neck, sport a shorter pendant that has volume.

SQUARE-NECKED OUTFITS

Multi-strand chokers, dramatic double strand necklaces work nicely with square necked tops. These necklines draw attention to your neck. Angular, geometric neck-pieces compliment the square neck.

BOAT NECK DRESSES AND TOPS

Long beaded necklaces look great with the boat neckline. This simple neckline draws attention to the neck-piece you will wear.