Lounge
Vidya Balan: ‘Personal style is timeless’
Summary
The ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’ actor on why the sari has the potential to be a global silhouette, if paparazzi influences her fashion -or not- and staying away from trends
There aren’t many contemporary personalities who own the sari like Vidya Balan does. In fact, the actor, who recently starred in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, has become so synonymous with it that references to her almost always have you conjuring up images of her decked in a lush Kanjeevaram or a breezy linen sari. At the recent launch of the Bengaluru store of ethnic fashion brand, Shobitam, of which Balan is the brand ambassador, she was surrounded by fans— dressed in saris, no less—and flooded with questions around her favourite garment. The 46-year-old, dressed in a purple tanchoi Banarasi silk sari, recalled memories of being gifted her first sari by her grandmother, and of growing up in Chembur in Mumbai where women in the neighbourhood wore simple cotton chungidi saris.
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When asked by Lounge about the elements that attract her to a sari, she said, “It’s a combination of colour, the way the fabric falls, and the kind of work on it." Now, talking of sari lovers, there tend to be two camps: those who are finicky and stitch blouses for every sari and then there are those who don’t mind mixing and matching things up. Which camp does Balan belong to? “It’s not practical to have a new blouse for every sari. And the thing with the blouse is you can mix and match and make it more sustainable. You could pair it, for instance, with a skirt or a pair of jeans or any other garment too. So, while I love blouses, I am not finicky about them," she replied.
In an email interview that followed after, Balan dived right into questions about her sari collection, her personal style, styling for her movies, and if sari can be a global phenomenon. Edited excerpts:
From a tuxedo with a sari drape to pre-stitched saris with pockets, there are many iterations in the market today. Do you think the sari holds the potential to become a global silhouette?
Yes. I also think it’s the most versatile garment. I’ve always said that irrespective of your size, shape, skin colour, hair length or what any of your choices in life are, you can just wear a sari and it will embrace you. I think the sari has all the potential to become a global phenomenon.
In one of your earlier interviews, you’d mentioned owning 25 saris, and that you don’t repeat saris...
There are saris that have an emotional significance, such as those gifted by my parents, my sister, my mother-in-law, Siddharth (Roy Kapur, her husband) or people who are close to me. Those are saris that have stayed with me forever. When I wear a sari to an appearance that has been sourced by my stylist from designers, I return them. When it comes to saris that are (generally) gifted to me, I do wear them, but I invariably end up asking people close to me such as family, friends, my team or even acquaintances who appreciate them if they’d like to have them. I do this because I’d rather have these handwoven saris, that have had a lot of effort going into making them, be used well by someone else than just have them lying around with me. I also end up donating saris to causes.
Coming to your movies, how involved do you tend to get with your look?
When I’m working on a character, I think the character dictates what she wears. I definitely have a point of view, and so does the director, and importantly, the costume designer, so we are working in cohesion. What’s also important is that I can’t be wearing stuff that doesn’t suit my personality, even though I’m playing a different character in each movie. So, what happens (during discussions) is that we arrive at a mid-path between the character and me. Generally speaking, I can’t take any credit for creating the wardrobe of any of my characters, because I’ve had the opportunity to work with some very good costume designers who understood the character.
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You’ve said that you don’t believe in fashion (because it’s fleeting), but through all your years of experimenting with it, what would you say is your personal style statement today?
I think a simple cotton sari—cotton because I come from Mumbai where we cannot afford to wear any other fabric—with my hair left open and a bindi and kajal is my idea of personal style today.
Paparazzi culture has become rampant and one aspect of it is content related to celebrity style. How much does the paparazzi following you around influence what you are wearing when you are stepping out?
I would say I don’t care about the paparazzi pictures. So, when I’m stepping out as not the “actor Vidya Balan", I don’t give much thought and wear whatever I feel comfortable in. I am very non-fussy, and since I love cotton, I tend to wear a lot of cotton churidar kurtas, jeans with shirts, and dresses. Of course, when I know I’m stepping out as “Vidya Balan, the actor", I think some thought does go into it.
Your advice to a youngster who’s trying to find their own style identity?
I realised a while ago that “what makes you feel good in is what you look good in", so something may be a fad or may be a trend at the moment, but if it doesn’t suit you or if you don’t feel good in it, then it’s not going to suit you and you shouldn’t do it. It is as simple as that. I think personal style is timeless, it’s an extension of your personality that doesn’t need to adhere to what is fashionable.
Maximalist or minimalist?
Always a minimalist.
Indian designers/labels whose work you like in terms of how they are reinterpreting or presenting Indian wear?
Injiri, Medium, Urvashi Kaur, Abraham and Thakore, Anamika Khanna and Raw Mango. There are many more but these are the ones that are top of mind.
