Manish Malhotra has been a defining presence in Bollywood costume design since the early 1990s. Drawing on the aesthetics of the 1960s and 1970s, Malhotra reshaped the look of mainstream Hindi cinema, becoming the first recipient of the Filmfare Award for Costume Design for Rangeela (1995).
His work in such films as Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, Jab We Met, Rockstar, Om Shanti Om and Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani established trends that extended well beyond the screen – from the return of chiffons and nude tones to everyday adaptations such as T-shirts with patialas.
For Malhotra, the appeal of film fashion lies in its blend of aspiration and accessibility – a perspective that he hopes to bring to his production company, Stage5 Production. Its first release Gustaakh Ishq, directed by Vibhu Puri and starring Vijay Varma, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Naseeruddin Shah, will be out in cinemas on November 28.
On the sidelines of the International Film Festival of India, where Gustaakh Ishq was premiered, Malhotra spoke about extending his love for cinema.
Why did you pivot to producing films?
I’ve always loved movies. I always wanted to produce, direct and write, but then I started the fashion brand and a store in Delhi. The work kept pulling me back.
During Covid five years ago, I decided to start a film production house. I launched Stage5 Productions, and we have made three films.
It’s been a big learning. You would think that having been in this film industry for so many years I know so much, but there’s so much learning as a producer.
Working with big stars might have been the easiest route.
When I started contacting platforms and others, the reaction was similar – would Kareena [Kapoor Khan] be there or someone else? I realised that everybody was expecting me to get big stars.
If the film requires it, then of course, but I wanted to tell different stories, which big production houses probably won’t make, back filmmakers who don’t have big houses backing them. To create your own identity, you have to take risks and go on a different path. If people like me, who’ve been in this industry for so many years, don’t take that risk, then who will?
What is informing your choices as a producer?
I go by instinct. I am looking for films that would be a bit different, unusual from what people expect from me.
For two years, I didn’t even get a script that excited me. Then, Tisca Chopra related Saali Mohabbat to me. It was a very neat, clean script. I said I would produce it because it’s different.
That’s what happened with Bun Tikki and with Gustaakh Ishq too. The world of Gustaakh Ishq especially attracted me. It’s a simple, classic love story with poetry in it. Then you’ve got Vishal Bhardwaj’s music, Gulzar’s lyrics, Manush Nandan as cinematographer, Resul Pookutty for sound. I think this proves that I’m a true lover of cinema.
When people look at your image, they put you into a box and think you’re only out-and-out commercial. As a child, I enjoyed Manmohan Desai but also loved the films of Basu Chatterji and Shyam Benegal as well.
Yash Chopra's films had such romance and aesthetics in all of them. I’m a huge, huge fan. I miss him so much. I never had the privilege of meeting Raj Kapoor, but I love his films – so, so huge. I’ve loved the films of V Shantaram and Bimal Roy too.
Gustaakh Ishq is set in a world of Muslim manners, poetry, old-world charm. Are you nostalgic for this period?
Absolutely. You remember the films that you grew up on, which had poetry and romance. It was simple.
There’s a sequence in the film where Vijay Varma goes from Delhi to Malerkotla. I told Gulzar saab that I had his song Musafir Hoon Yaaron [from Parichay] in mind. Then, I reminded him of his song from Namkeen with Sanjeev Kumar. Vishal sir was surprised that I knew that song too. So yes, I am heavy on nostalgia.
Are you involved with the entire filmmaking process, or do you restrict yourself to the costume and art departments?
No, I get involved completely. I’m a hands-on producer.
I think I come with wisdom. I have a huge bandwidth of work because I work across the globe. We have a big store in Dubai. We have a big headquarters. I have a lot of young opinion that I come with too.
I’m friendly with the older and younger actors, producers and directors. I come with a broader perspective. Then I look into casting, edits, music, aesthetics, all of it.
Apart from Gustaak Ishq, you have also produced Saali Mohabbat and Bun Tikki.
Saali Mohabbat is a thriller with Radhika Apte, Divyendu Sharma, Anshuman Pushkar, Sauraseni Maitra and Anurag Kashyap. Bun Tikki has Abhay Deol and a child star, and is a beautiful story of a father and son with a small LGBTQ angle. Zeenat Aman and Shabana Azmi are also in it.
They’re all very different. That’s the exciting part. I don’t want to be known as a producer who makes a similar kind of film. I’d love to do mythology, a traditional film, a film based on Amar Chitra Katha. I’d like to make a musical.
And direct your own film?
Well, I think about direction. I don’t know if it’s meant to be or not. Some work or the other keeps coming up.
I’ll direct something that comes from me, which would be glamour, romantic, all of that.
Many of the films with your costumes are game-changers. What was it that connected with audiences?
The 1990s were a game-changing time in Indian cinema. It was a time when more than 20 new heroines were launched. It was the time of Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan, and filmmakers like Ram Gopal Varma, Aditya Chopra, Karan Johar, Dharmesh Darshan, Farah Khan. So many interesting filmmakers that started their journeys then.
My costumes resonated because I came with a love of cinema. At that time, the brief or description of the role was “sexy” or “sensuous”. But what does the character do, who is she?
I come from a certain thought that all of us like certain things. For example, I love wearing black and navy blue. All of us have a particular style. So I would get that style into that actress’s film.
Every role is about glamour. How do I differentiate it? My work has always been passion-led and instinct-led. That’s what I’m hoping works in the movies I produce as well.
How has costume design changed from 1990, when you started out, to the present?
See, film changed. Glamour has now come to the red carpet, on to Instagram and social media. Films have become real.
The pivotal film was Jab We Met. Geet is stylish in her own believable way – she wears a kurta and a jacket. It’s Indian, modern and practical. It’s day-to-day comfort. Today you see girls in kurtis and jeans, or kurtis and salwar kameezes and a backpack. That all came from Jab We Met.
Which are some of your most iconic costumes?
You can never plan iconic. I think that the choices were different then.
Recently, I was asked what I thought of Kajol’s bright green outfit for a song in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. I remember seeing the fabric and colour at Kala Niketan and I loved it.
Throughout that song, Shah Rukh and the others are dancing around Kajol. I thought, let her stand out even while she is sitting around.
I remember Tarun Mansukhani, Karan Johar and I had a meeting during the shooting of Desi Girl from Dostana. We had one costume left. I thought we should do the opposite of gold – a silver sari. Then I said, we have done sequinned swimsuits, so let’s do a sequinned petticoat and blouse with a silver grey sari wrapped over those.
It’s a simple way of thinking. I also think from the audience’s point of view: will it catch on with the audience?
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