THE WONDER YEARS

MANISH MALHOTRA LOOKS BACK AT HIS 30 WONDERFUL YEARS IN SHOW BUSINESS. AKASH NIHALANI TAKES NOTES

- AKASH NIHALANI

Manish Malhotra is a name that is synonymous with Bollywood fashion. The designer started his journey at the movies back in 1989 with Swarg. Thirty years down the line and Manish is the ultimate poster boy for showbiz fashion. He’s created some iconic outfits over the years. And has made friends with half of Bollywood — the half that matters, that is... As Manish completes a milestone in his career, we chat with the designer and learn a little more about his memorable journey down the years. Excerpts...

Your journey as a designer in Bollywood began in 1989 with Juhi Chawla in Swarg. Tell us something about how that came about.

I was modelling at that time and had also started working in boutiques. I really enjoyed my time there as I was amongst clothes, I was sketching, I was dressing up the mannequin and all of that. Island magazine had just started their design fraternity, NIFT had just opened and they had done a thing about young designers. I was on the cover of the Island magazine. Then, I kind of ended up keeping two tailors at home. My cousin Laali, who is married to David Dhawan, was going to Hong Kong and she needed a few clothes for an exhibition. I showed her my sketches and she really liked them. I ended up making those clothes for her. Laali told David about me. They had to rush to shoot a schedule which was for the last song of Swarg in 1989. That’s how I ended up doing three costumes for the film. I remember going helter-skelter at the time. I was constantly running around.