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 JAN 22: With Bollywood biggies
like Sridevi, Juhi Chawla, Tabu, former Miss World Aishwarya Rai,
Raveena Tandon, Mahima Chaudhary and Shilpa Shetty on her client list,
and blockbuster films in her kitty, Mumbai-based costume designer
Neeta Lulla is going places. From the lily white salwaar-kameez of
Sridevi in ‘Chandni’, the shimmering mirror worked chaniya choli of
Aishwarya Rai in ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’, the opulence of ‘Taal’, to
the vibrant richness of ‘Devdas’, Neeta has done it all.
On the nuances of
designing for a period film, Neeta remarked, “You have to pay close
attention to detail. 'Kisna' is my toughest project till date. A lot
of research went into it. The attire has to appeal not only to the
director and the artiste but also has to be in sync with the background. So
we did a background study by speaking to the locals of Garhwal. We
picked up their mannerisms, their traits, everything.” Keeping in mind
the basic draping and working within set parameters, Neeta let her
creative juices flow.
“My focus was to
create realistic, sober ensembles,” she said. “I was given the
complete script, and worked on the look with valuable inputs from the
filmmaker and the artists. Basically, everybody took interest in all
the departments of making 'Kisna'.”
These days, Neeta is
excited about her recently launched flagship store in Mumbai. “Over a
span of twenty years, I have dressed some of the most beautiful people
in this country and worked on every aspect of film fashion, be it
designing for movies or to being a consultant to Bollywood actresses.
Opening a flagship store was the next logical step as it allows a
one-point access, especially for the people who want to buy my clothes
but don't know how to approach me.”
 There are two lines on
display – Diffusion (Neeta Lulla Nishq) and Bridal (Neeta Lulla Coutre).
The launch party witnessed Mumbai’s A-listers in full force –
Aishwariya Rai, Shilpa Shetty, Anaida, Gayatri Joshi, Udita Goswami,
Rocky S, Anita Dongre, Anna Singh, Sameera Reddy, Aftab Shivdasani,
Tanuja Chandra, Lara Dutta with Kelly Dorji, Kishen Mulchandani,
Subhash Ghai, Hema Malini, Vikrant Chowgule and Tejaswini Kolhapure,
among others.
The two-level store
is done in ivory, dull gold and aquamarine. The ground level holds her
diffusion line, while the basement houses her bridal lounge.
Neeta has just finished designing for an Adnan Sami video with Dia Mirza
and a Michael Sajbel’s Hollywood flick One Night with the King (with
Omar Sharif and Peter O’Toole).
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