Sukhdev’s documentary India ’67 alternately titled An Indian Day, captures life in some parts of India in 1967. The filmmaker’s camera is a restless traveller covering urban and rural life, different geographies, industrialised India as well as agricultural and pastoral India. There are also vignettes of parties, art villages (Cholamandalam), temples and weddings, the stuff of daily life. It also references some of the major events, a Thackeray rally in Mumbai for example as well as the Bihar famine of 1966-1967. As a result, the documentary captures all segements of society, from the wealthy ..read more

In a country as varied as India, autumn arrives in different ways. Way up north you can see fall colours while down South the autumn sees rains. Nevertheless for most of India, the autumn comes after the monsoon and a time of being constricted and confined by the rain is replaced by clear skies and an abundance of life reflected in the country’s many festivals in October/November. Given urban life as well as the many influences and images that are now readily accessible, autumn may well evoke both our festivals with their Indianised marigold flowers as well as the American fall, Halloween and ..read more

During the lockdown I decided to watch my aiunt’s favourite film, Aaina (1993). Normally I don’t review classic Bollywood because it doesn’t aim for authenticity as much as novelty and visual spectacle. With the caveat of course that often “filmi” styles do percolate down to mass wear. But as it happens, Aaina in parts made me quite nostalgic as I was a young person in the 90s and remember more than a few of the trends. And I was plesantly surprised by the way the movie uses clothes to create a persona. The ensemble cast of this movie is on good form but the star of the film is definitely Amri ..read more

At the time of Rhea Kapoor’s August 2021 wedding, I was struck by her pearl net veil, surely the standout feature of the ensemble. Back then I also did a mini poll on the veil with a few folk and the overwhelming response, bar one, was that they didn’t like it. Perhaps it was the newness of it or perhaps it felt too gimmicky for most folk. As it happened, I never got around to doing a post on it and wasn’t sure if it needs one now, given the short life of celebrity events:). Nevertheless, since it seems to be still rattling around in my head somewhere, here is the post. It’s not entirely a “hi ..read more

Uski Roti (1969) and Gaman (see my previous post) have a vehicle driver and a lonely wife in common and there the comparison ends. But I am using it as a companion piece to the Gaman post because like Gaman it;s limited number of costumes convey a sense of place and time, in this case rural Punjab in the late 60s. Where Gaman’s costumes convey a faded gentility and melancholia, the costumes of Uski Roti are rugged and utilitarian, with spashes of bold prints in keeping with the time. And hints of ornamentation, a bit of tinsel, an anklet and so on. In this movie the men are a little on the mar ..read more

Last year we got ourselves a subscription for mubi and ended up quite enjoying their selection of films. We caught a fair few old Indian films – some of the films we saw are also on youtube but I guess the print quality might be a bit better on mubi. One of these movies was Gaman (1978). It is still relevant, many of the migrant issues raised in the film remain and some have grown more complex. In comparison to the Muzaffar Ali films which followed later, notably the opulent Umrao Jaan, the costumes of this film are very few and often quite threadbare. Nevertheless they have the elegance of we ..read more

Deeka the Dog encapsulates the mood of 2021 Nearly a year has elapsed since I blogged here. Even for someone like me, used to a quiet life, pandemic anxiety and fatigue set in by mid 2021. If our immediate family made it through the year covid-less, this was not always the case for extended family. And so fashion and clothes weren’t much on my brain for much of last year. And of course there was also the lack of visual stimuli that everyday life provides – a girl in a new dress, passengers on a train, clothes on a rack – so vital in kick starting thoughts about clothes gone by. For most of the ..read more

I must confess I was a little lukewarm towards DBB when it released but meant to do a review of its vintage vibe all the same. A second viewing awhile ago made me appreciate the film, its attention to detail and the performances (poignant to see Sushant Singh Rajput and pity it didn’t get a sequel). Indian knits – streetwear i.e. – are a humble and modest article of clothing. The colours are varied of course but they – along with the requisite muffler and shawl – are less about style and more about comfort. And even now, when machine made acrylics are around, they still exude a bit of the hand ..read more

Today let’s look at Rekha’s commitment to the polka dot – with a side serving of leheria (diagonal stripes or literally waves)! As with Vijeta, the look is very consistent, bar a “dream sequence” and a wedding. The movie: 1982’s Jeevan Dhaara. Bit of a three hanky movie about the travails of the breadwinner of a large family. Remade from the Tamil Aval Oru Thodar Kathai (which has some interesting wardrobe choices of its own). First up the 200% all polka dot starter! The template for Rekha’s sarees in the movies is a saree with a thin border/piping with the colours inverted for the bl ..read more