Today, I am looking at the picture perfect image in front of me, sitting demurely in an armchair too large for her, and thinking, boy, has Karisma come a long way.
Like a sartorial shooting star, blazing a fashion statement all her won. Earlier, she had bustled into the room, immediately upping the energy quotient, her frail shoulders hung with a huge Chanel day bag.
Her Victoria Beckham jeans moulded a perfect derriere while the black Gap T- Shirt remained her statement against a head-to-toe designer look. Fendi leather encircled her perfect waist.
She glanced at the brilliant Dior dresses laid out on the bed and stated matter of factly, "Kalyani [Chawla] will be so happy if I wear Dior. She wants me to wear a dress anywhere, to any event. But their sizes are too big for Bebo [sister Kareena Kapoor] and me." Kalyani has obviously recognised innate style.
Rewind half a decade or so to Yash Chopra's super-hit, Dil To Pagal Hai. "It all started with that, where designerwear became the trend for films. And with Raja Hindustani, the whole look became important."
While DTPH put fitness inspired sports looks on the fashion radar, the commercially successful, Raja Hindustani, had young moviegoers begging for the straight hair look that Karisma sported.
A look that, may we add, has somehow remained in the audiences' psyche even today. "Yes, Karisma has been iconic in changing the look in Hindi films," says designer, Manish Malhotra, style Higgins to Karisma's Eliza Doolittle.
He recalls the sincerity and hard work that the young actor put into her makeover. "When we put the brown lenses on her for Raja Hindustani, her eyes had gone completely red but she faced the camera with confidence. My whole aggression she supported. Together, we completely changed the style of Hindi cinema."
Also Read: Karisma is back!
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