“There’s nothing more artistic than a beautiful body.” Manish Malhotra sheds light on body positivity and its impact on Bollywood fashion.
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CreativityTranscript
00:00Men are wearing backless, they're wearing a skirt with a blazer.
00:04I told Akshay Kumar that,
00:05why don't you change this hair because you're wearing a white shirt.
00:08And he was horrified.
00:09I remember one brief I'd got and which was like,
00:11she's going for a funeral but she should look sexy.
00:13And I kept thinking, what does that mean?
00:20You know, I remember Rangeela, you know,
00:23and I think you were probably one of the first people
00:28who was able to find that line between what is vulgar
00:32and what is sexy and sensuous.
00:35Like, I don't think any film in the 90s has ever looked...
00:39And Urmila Matondkar, what she pulled off over there
00:41and what you both came together with,
00:43with Ram Gopal Verma, I think the look that you created,
00:46it's iconic till date.
00:47I don't think there's any...
00:48How did you find that line between what is...
00:50I think Ramuji was again very clear.
00:53I remember him calling me to Hyderabad to narrate the film to me.
00:56And I was so impressed.
00:57I'm important enough that somebody narrated the script to me.
01:00And I have to tell you, what he narrated is what he made.
01:03And Urmila was an extremely hardworking girl and still is.
01:08And I think she owned it completely.
01:09And I think, again, it's the director's vision
01:12and medium of presenting it, right?
01:14And in that, it's a lot is seen through
01:18Jackie Shroff's lens, right?
01:21Who's in love with her.
01:23I think anything that is shown aesthetically
01:26and taken care of the way it's being presented,
01:30even nudity can be beautiful, you know?
01:33But it's very important the way you're looking at it.
01:37If you're looking at it wrongly or in a manner
01:40which you shouldn't, that comes true.
01:43There's art in everything.
01:45There's nothing more artistic than a beautiful body, right?
01:48But it's how you present it, how you see it.
01:51So I remember we were in Switzerland.
01:52We were shooting a song for Dhadkan.
01:54And I told Akshay Kumar that, why don't you
01:56change this hair, because you're wearing a white shirt.
01:58And he was horrified.
02:00You know, it was, Dil le yeh kaha hai dil se.
02:03And the director, Dharmesh Darshan, was very supportive of me.
02:05And he said, yeah, yeah, it's the correct thing.
02:07You know, you're wearing a white shirt and just a sweater on.
02:09And of course, always the one brief was,
02:11ki sexy lagne chahiye.
02:13She should look sexy.
02:14And he would be like, but what is?
02:15I remember one brief I got, which was like,
02:18she's going for a funeral, but she should look sexy.
02:20And I kept thinking, what does that mean?
02:22And then I understood that from my tailor,
02:24that no, the outfit should be very fitted.
02:26There's also a big conversation today about body positivity,
02:29which is not the case.
02:30Which is so lovely, isn't it?
02:31It's so lovely.
02:32I don't think you, I think no human being
02:35should ever feel they're less than the other.
02:38You know, for me, I think that's always been the case.
02:41And I think it's so nice that there's body positivity today.
02:46There's a whole, you know,
02:48there's such an inclusivity in everything.
02:51Even in fashion today, men are wearing backless
02:54or they're wearing a trail
02:57or they're wearing a skirt with a blazer.
02:59I think it's just fantastic what's happening.
03:02I think today people don't fear being themselves
03:06and they don't, and in fashion,
03:08there's nothing right or wrong.
03:09Today people are wearing sneakers with a lehenga.
03:11You know, they want to look glam for some time,
03:13but then they want comfort to come in.
03:15There's such a vibrance,
03:17there's such a vibrance around you today
03:19in terms of color and style
03:21and a whole, you know, inclusivity that's come into fashion
03:25and the whole intermix that's happening.
03:27I think it's great.