'I continue to be in awe of movies'

The grandeur in Manish Malhotra’s bespoke ensembles is often as larger than life as some of the Hindi films that he designs for.

That’s because movies have influenced him since childhood, says the acclaimed designer, who has styled a range of Bollywood’s screen divas over the years.

From Kajol, Karisma Kapoor, Rani Mukherjee to Aishwarya Rai, Preity Zinta and Kareena Kapoor — Malhotra’s Midas touch has worked its magic on several names in tinsel town.

“Movies have been an influencer since childhood. I continue to be in awe of movies. The perfection of the 1960s and 1970s colours is what I grew up with and that reflects a lot in my design philosophy,” said the designer.

His romance with Bollywood started when he first served as a costume designer for actress Juhi Chawla in the 1989-released film Swarg.

Later, his work for Urmila Matondkar’s look in the 1995 film Rangeela won him his first award. The designer says he “looked at costume designing like no other designers looked at that time” and that’s how he got introduced to people who became his “closest friends”.

“I have more than a 24-year-long relationship with Bollywood and movies. I live and breathe films. My closest friends belong to the industry and are always around to support my work,” said Malhotra.

From designing for some of the style goddesses in the past to dressing up the current crop of Hindi filmdom’s leading ladies including Deepika Padukone, Sonam Kapoor and Alia Bhatt — he is a hit all the way. Now he is also up for designing for a period film.

“People associate me with modern India due to the kind of work I have done in the past. If I ever get a chance to do a periodic film, I would love to explore that world,” he added.

He does his bit to promote the crafts and traditions of the country by creating collections using Kashmiri, Phulkari and Chikankari embroidery.

He said, “Kashmiri thread work, zari and tila work have now become a vital element of my signature work. As a label and designer, I take keen interest in workmanship.”