The 7th Edition Of Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) Announces Its Full Line-Up

The Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) which will be held from 1st Nov, 20p18 to 4th Nov, 2018 in the beautiful mountain town of McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala, home of His Holiness the Dalai Lama & the meeting point of a rich & cosmopolitan mix of people & cultures. The 7th edition of DIFF will build on the hallmarks that have given the festival its reputation as a cutting-edge event, an intimate & carefully curated festival in the Himalayas showcasing an eclectic mix of the best of independent features, documentaries, shorts & animation films from India & around the world.

Dar Gai’s Namdev Bhau: In Search of Silence will open & Ere Gowda’s Kannada debut feature Balekempa will close the 7th edition of Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) 2018. Both directors will be present.

Manoj Bajpayee, the lead actor of Bhonsle, and internationally renowned photographer Raghu Rai will be attending the festival along with his filmmaker daughter Avani Rai for her debut documentary, Raghu Rai: An Unfinished Portrait.
Indian feature film directors Ere Gowda, Anamika Haksar, Devashish Makhija, Ridham Janve & Priya Ramasubban will be present.
International filmmakers attending the festival include Tashi Gyeltshen (Bhutan), Dar Gai (Ukraine), Mathieu Roy (Canada), Hiroshi Sunairi (Japan) & Luc Schaedler (Switzerland).
Indian short filmmakers Siddharth Chauhan, Sudha Padmaja Francis, Mukul Haloi, Rishi Chandna, Tarun Jain, Raghbir Singh Toor, Natesh Hagde, Abhijeet Phartiyal, Divya Unny, Pia Shah & Ajitpal Singh will also be present.

The DIFF 2018 lineup includes Indian fiction & documentary features: Balekempa, Bhonsle, Ee.Ma.Yau, Ghode Ko Jalebi Khilane Le Ja Riya Hoon, The Gold-Laden Sheep & the Sacred Mountain, Ma•ama, Ritu Sarin & Tenzing Sonam’s The Sweet Requiem, Namdev Bhau: In Search of Silence & Raghu Rai: An Unfinished Portrait & international fiction & documentary features: 48 Years: Silent Dictator, A Long Way Home, Bamboo Dogs, Boom for Real, The Dispossessed, Father to Son, House of My Fathers, In the Intense Now, Little Forest, Namme, Of Fathers & Sons, The Red Phallus, Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda & Waru.
Short Films include: Amma Meri, Eye Test, Khurafat, Letter To Home, Namage Navu Godege Mannu, Pashi, Sakhisona, The Open Door, Tungrus & Two Brothers.
Children’s Films include: 2 features Chuskit, Cross My Heart & 4 shorts Abu Adnan’s Father, Beauty, Hadia (The Gift) & Rammat Gammat.

The Indian Programming highlights at the festival include Devashish Makhija’s Bhonsle, Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Ee.Ma.Yau, Ridham Janve’s Gaddi language feature film The Gold-Laden Sheep & Sacred Mountain, Dominic Sangma’s Garo language film Ma’ama & documentaries like Raghu Rai: An Unfinished Portrait by Avani Rai, Asia Premiere of Ritu Sarin & Tenzing Sonam’s The Sweet Requiem which has its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival 2018 & Anamika Haksar’s Ghode ko Jalebi Khilane Le Ja Riya Hoon.
The International Programming highlights at the festival include the Indian Premieres of Hiroshi Sunairi’s 48 Years: Silent Dictator (Japan), TIFF 2017 Official Selection Waru (New Zealand), Tashi Gyeltshen’s The Red Phallus (Won FIPRESCI at Busan), Zaza Khalvashi’s Namme (official entry to Oscars from Georgia) & screenings of Yim Soon- Rye’s Little Forest (Korea), Hsiao Ya Chuan’s Father To Son (Taiwan) & documentaries Boom For Now (Sarah Driver, USA), In the Intense Now (João Moreira Salles, Brazil), A Long Way Home (Luc Scheadler, Switzerland) & Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda (Stephen Nomura Schible, USA/Japan).

The popular DIFF Children’s Film Programme is once again curated by Children’s Media Specialist, Monica Wahi & the line-up includes 2 award-winning features, Chuskit (Priya Ramasubban, India) & Cross My Heart (Luc Picard, Canada) & 4 internationally acclaimed shorts, Rammat Gammat (Ajitpal Singh, India), Hadia the Gift (Sinem Sakaogl,Germany/Turkey), Father (AbuAdnan, Denmark), Beauty (Christina Willings,Canada)

DIFF has always recognized the importance of short films as a category in its own right & for the 5th year in a row, filmmaker Umesh Kulkarni has curated a selection of 10 shorts including Tungrus And Eye Test. Besides this, DIFF is partnering with Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films to present a package of short films.

This year, DIFF is thrilled to host the 1st ever Dharamshala PJLF Editing Workshop, an initiative supported by NFDC. The 2 selected projects are Where the Winds Blow by Director Karma Takapa & Editor Anadi Athaley, & 4Sum by Director Neeraj Gwal & Editor Rishiraj Bhattacharya. A third project, Chola, directed & edited by Sanal Sasidharan, was unanimously recommended by the selection committee & will receive editing consultation from the mentors. The projects will be mentored by internationally renowned editor Jacques Comets who co-headed the editing department at France’s leading film school, La Femis, along with editor & Artistic Director of the Kerala International Film Festival, Bina Paul & producer & script/editing mentor Olivia Stewart.

5 filmmakers from Himachal Pradesh, Rahat Mahajan, Aman Sharma, Mrinalini Singha, Vaasu Soni & Kesang Thakur will be mentored by renowned National Award-winning filmmaker Gurvinder Singh & award-winning documentary filmmaker Anupama Srinivasan in this year’s edition of DIFF Film Fellow initiative. The initiative, started in the year 2014, is supported by the HP Government’s Department of Language, Arts & Culture & this year focuses specially on filmmakers from Himachal Pradesh.

Riddham Janve’s Gaddi language debut feature, The Gold-Laden Sheep & Sacred Mountain & Shimla based filmmaker Siddharth Chauhan’s short film, Pashi, shot in Himachal Pradesh, are part of this year’s Spotlight on Himachal.

Talking about this year’s line-up at DIFF, Festival Director Ritu Sarin who along with Tenzing Sonam directed The Sweet Requiem which had its World Premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival averred, “It’s been 7 years since we embarked on this amazing journey & we’ve had so many good movies & happy memories.” She adds: “With each edition we’ve learnt new things & tried to improve DIFF as much as possible. As always, we have tried our best to put together a range of unusual & thought-provoking films, several of which are India premieres. Especially important to us is our community outreach programmes & initiatives to help young filmmakers. This year we’re thrilled to launch the 1st ever Dharamshala PJLF Editing Workshop in which 2 promising editor/director teams will benefit from mentorship from internationally renowned professionals. And we are very happy that our DIFF Film Fellows initiative this year is geared specifically to budding filmmakers from Himachal Pradesh.”

With an exciting line-up of films & events, DIFF 2018 promises to provide another unique, captivating cinematic experience against the backdrop of the dramatic Dhauladhar range.
The 7th edition of Dharamshala International Film Festival will be held in McLeod Ganj from 1st Nov, 2018 to 4th Nov, 2018. Filmmakers Ritu Sarin & Tenzing Sonam, who are long-term residents of Dharamshala, initiated the festival in the year 2012, with the aim of bringing high-quality independent cinema to the mountains, encouraging local filmmaking talent & creating a meaningful platform to engage the area’s diverse communities.

DIFF is presented by White Crane Arts & Media, a trust founded by filmmakers Ritu Sarin & Tenzing Sonam to promote contemporary cinema, art & independent media practices in the Himalayan regions of India.
The 1st ever edition of DIFF was held in the 2012. Since then, it has established itself as one of India’s leading independent film festivals. DIFF’s cutting-edge & eclectic programming, which includes many India premieres, and its policy of inviting as many directors as possible has made it one of the go-to events in any cinephile’s calendar. Last year, the films & side programmes at DIFF attracted a viewership of around 6000, of which at least 60% were from out of town from places as far away as Kerala, Bangalore, Hyderabad & Mumbai. Some of India’s best-known film critics & journalists from leading media houses were on hand to cover the event.

This year, for the 3rd time in a row, the festival will take place in the peaceful environs of Tibetan Children’s Village, a short distance from McLeod Ganj. Along with 2 existing auditoriums at the school, this year DIFF is excited to partner with Delhi-based Picture Time to set up a mobile digital theatre with state-of-the-art projection facilities at the festival venue.

The 14th Edition of “GLITTER 2018” Exhibition Held

The outset of the annual festive & wedding season is incomplete without the mention of GLITTER, India’s most celebrated Pre-Festive, Wedding & Lifestyle exhibition. The 3 days exhibition, was held from 12th Oct, 2018 to 14th Oct, 2018 at Hotel JW Marriott.

For this festive & bridal season, GLITTER had curated a marketplace wherein visitors got a chance to witness &n shop from over 80 hi-end designers from all over India in Ethnic & Western Couture (prêt-à-porter & also made-to-measure); Bridal Trousseau-must-haves for all the brides out there; Fine Jewellery for all occasions; Festive Wear & Lifestyle Accessories & Art. The offerings of the show not only made it the most awaited exhibition in the lifestyle segment but even a one-stop-shop for everyone’s festive & bridal fashion must haves.

The 14th edition of GLITTER housed more than 80 exceptional brands like Akansha Creations (Rose By Anupama) of Delhi; Aleah Ahmed of Delhi; Bharatsons Jewellers of Mumbai; The Cappuccino Collection of Mumbai; Charu Jewels of Surat; Dhadda Designer Diamond Jewellery of Mumbai; Zahairaa by Golank Diamonds of Mumbai; Johri of Mumbai; Kantilal & Bros Jewellers of Surat; Kara Handcrafted Bridalwear of Mumbai; Mehak Creations of Delhi; Monica Bhayana of Delhi; Maitri Mehta Label of Mumbai; My Best Friend of Mumbai; Nona’s Exclusif of Delhi; Riwaaya of Mumbai; The Pink Mirror of Kolkatta; Sammohi Design Studio by Moksha and Hiral of Mumbai; Sanzany Jewellery of Mumbai; Sola Jaipur of Jaipur; Soshai of Mumbai; Ushnakmal of Banaras; Polkie of Faridabad; Ritu Gadhaiya of Jaipur; Shrivas by Archita Mehta of Udaipur; Sid N Vani of Delhi to name a few.

After a not so well last year and a low 2018, it seems like Kapil Sharma is all set to make his much-awaited comeback to the TV with the new season of his super successful show The Kapil Sharma Show. Though earlier this year he returned with Family Time With Kapil Sharma but the show failed to grab eyeballs and was a misfire. Kapil was then in news for his abusive tweets and scuffle with a journalist.

Sometime back he resurfaced and among other things also tweeted about his return with the new season of The Kapil Sharma Show. Meanwhile, his Punjabi venture Son of Manjeet Singh also hit the screens and Kapil was busy promoting that film. Well, now that the movie is released, Kapil uploaded an image on Twitter with the caption announcing his return to Mumbai after a gap of one and a half months. And that he will now all set to make people laugh with his comeback with The Kapil Sharma Show. Also read: Kapil Sharma CONFIRMS a December wedding with girlfriend Ginni Chatrath; Reveals his honeymoon plans

He wrote, “back in mumbai after one n half month.. now it’s time to make u people laugh with the new season of #TKSS”. Check out his tweet below

Well, we are glad that India’s ace comedian, Kapil Sharma is back! Here’s waiting for an official announcement of the show’s new season. And also looking forward to Kapil’s antics along with his co-actors. Also, wondering if Sunil Grover will be a part of the show or not? Considering the two had made up recently and are now in good terms.

There has been immense buzz surrounding his coming wedding with actress Deepika Padukone, but Bollywood star Ranveer Singh says his focus in life right now is acting and films.

“Right now, I am focussed on the work that I am doing in films. I am doing back-to-back films. I’ve been very blessed to have some really amazing projects at hand and I tremendously value these opportunities,” Ranveer told IANS in an email interview.

“I want to do my bit to contribute towards the filmmaking process and to try and make the best films possible. So, my focus in life right now is acting and films,” added the actor, who has been named as the brand ambassador of nutritional supplement brand BigMuscles Nutrition.

Ranveer walked into Bollywood in 2010 as a raw Delhi boy with “Band Baaja Baaraat”. Since then he has essayed varied roles to perfection.

There are projects like “Ladies vs Ricky Bahl”, “Lootera”, “Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela”, “Gunday”, “Dil Dhadakne Do”, “Bajirao Mastani” and “Padmaavat” in his film portfolio.

At the moment, he is working on Zoya Akhtar’s “Gully Boy”, Rohit Shetty’s “Simmba” and Kabir Khan’s “83”.

Ranveer says finding a place in Bollywood was a tough task.

“Trying to get a break in a very insulated mainstream Hindi film industry was a great and big challenge. Then to try and shoulder big films and larger-than-life characters in parts that have… myriad layered emotions to play… some requiring a level of maturity and evolution. Those are some significant challenges that I have faced,” he said, responding to a question on the challenges he faced while making a name for himself.

Have you felt a pressure of failing the expectations of others?

“I actually never feel pressure because I never allow it (to) creep (in). I feel pressure is a very negative connotation and I never allow anything negative to enter my system or affect me in any way.

“I am an artiste, so for me there is no success or failure. There are no rights or wrongs in acting. There is nothing that is quantifiable in acting.”

He says there are just “different ways to do things”.

“Acting falls into the realm of subjectivity, so there is no success or failure. There are no good or bad performances. There are just different performances. I don’t feel pressured. The only person’s expectations I need to fulfill are my own.

“I need to ensure that I pump more and more of myself and my energy into my performances and hopefully, with each performance and each character that I play, I grow and evolve. I have expectations of myself. So it’s a very personal thing. So, pressure is something I don’t feel and most certainly not from any external source,” he added.

On his association with BigMuscles Nutrition, he said: “I was supposed to transform my body for my action film ‘Simmba’ and I was looking for a supplement brand that would help me in this endeavour, and I started using the products. They then shortly invited me on board as their brand ambassador and I am glad to be associated with a fitness and quality-conscious brand like BigMuscles Nutrition.”

IANS

Aadyam Pushes The Envelope With India’s 1st Ever Original Musical #Singindiasing!

“Come Watch the music”, says Rahul DaCunha the co-scriptwriter & lyricist of Aadyam’s 1st ever musical production #SingIndiaSing. Talking about how the idea of an original musical came into being, Rahul DaCunha avers, “A few years ago Bugs Bhargava Krishna & I began to conceive the story & pen the lyrics for an original stage musical, beginning with the title #SingIndiaSing. For the 2 guys, who’d been weaned on the rock opera brilliance of Jesus Christ Superstar & the hip hop “today-ness” of Hamilton, this was our opportunity to write our own ground-up musical, one that would appeal to the Indian palette.” The duo then decided to introduce their words to the perfect melody with Music Composer & Producer Clinton Cerejo. 1 year & 28 songs later, the original masterpiece is ready to be unveiled.

#SingIndiaSing promises to be a power-packed 2 hour theatrical that dabbles in all genres including Rock, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Pop, Soul & even a cool hint of Indian Classical. With a cast comprising of Television’s best (Suchitra Pillai & Kamakshi Rai), Indie rockstars (Uday Benegal, Siddharth Basrur, Sarosh Nanavaty, Naquita Dsouza) & Theatre sweethearts (Brian Tellis, Asif Ali Beg, Abhishek Krishnan, Delraaz Bunshah & Tavish Bhattacharyya), the musical promises to induct & entertain a much younger, digital audience into theatre while keeping the promise of a spectacular production to the loyal theatre-goers. In addition to the live singing, the musical plans to thrill the audiences visually with tech-heavy set design & larger than life choreography.

Oranjuice Entertainment, a division of Fountainhead MKTG, is the executive producer of Aadyam & also of #SingIndiaSing. Fountainhead MKTG, from Dentsu Aegis Network is India’s premier experiential marketing agency that blends local insights with global perspectives, to curate bespoke experiences.

Brian Tellis, Co – Founder & Group CEO, shares, “At Oranjuice Entertainment, we pride ourselves on creating engagement platforms for brands that help them connect & engage with their target group. In this process, we ensure brand resonance, unique engagement ideas & integrity of operations.”

Directed by Theatre Sweetheart Nadir Khan (of Twelve Angry Jurors, Anand Express, God of Carnage fame), #SingIndiaSing is the story of 4 contestants on a reality show, seeking fame, reaching for the stars to become stars, in a dog-beat-dog world of show business – in a world where the internet is the mightiest power. The 4 aspirants are Vishnu- a true blue rocker from Pune, Kitty who is a sexy bar dancer from Dharavi, Jayashankar Iyer a.k.a Jazzy who combines Carnatic rhythms with Rap & Shweta – the girl with a mask.

The show producers are Channel – the owner of the channel Dhoom Dham TV, Rocky Singh – a washed up
music composer, Dolly – a show host & an ex-journalist who digs up dirt from the contestants’ past.

The show also introduces the concept of “Hashtags” – a personification of the internet world, the trolls-tweets-likes & disses. In the middle of this chaos, will the contestants discover there are greater things in the world than just celebrity & applause? Or will they lose themselves in the search for victory?

Aadyam, the Aditya Birla Group initiative, closes with a musical bang with #SingIndiaSing. Opening shows at the Jamshed Bhabha Theatre, NCPA on 12th Oct, 2018. Tickets are now live on BookMyShow.

Karthik Aaryan’s Succes Story In The Fashion Arena

Kartik Aaryan is an inspiring success story in Bollywood; a star who has made it on his own. One man who could relate to Kartik Aaryan’s journey was Kamal Khushlani, Founder & MD of Mufti, a revered fashion brand. Interestingly, the 2 of them possess a similar outlook on life and believe in taking the path less travelled.
Commenting on being on board as Mufti’s 1st ever brand-ambassador, Kartik Aryan averred, “Mufti was the 1st ever brand I signed after the success of my last movie Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety so it’s very close to my heart. It’s a great association to have. The kind of clothing lines that they have is young, trendy and matches my personal style.”
While Kartik Aaryan became a Bollywood heartthrob with the success of his new-age films, Kamal Khuslani chalked out a successful path in the business of fashion arena. With both of them abiding by the adage never-say-die in their respective fields, and with Karthik Aaryan working with similar beliefs that the brand represents, it was only fitting that Kartik Aaryan was on-boarded as the 1st ever brand ambassador for Mufti.
Speaking about the association, Kamal Khuslani shared, “Given Karthik Aaryan’s journey in Bollywood, it is evident that Kartik Aaryan is a man who is confident of his actions and believes in himself. He truly encapsulates the qualities Mufti stands for – confident, authentic/genuine, youthful & trendy.”

Director Rajiv Dhingra Turns A Producer

Director Rajiv Dhingra who marked his directorial debut with Punjabi hit Film Love Punjab is now all set to come up with yet another film titled TaraMira under his banner Rapa Nui’s Films in association with Red Eye Productions & Yadu Productions. The film will go on the floors in Oct, 2018.

Director Rajiv Dhingra has now turned a Producer & he will be producing content for different platforms under his banner. He also confirmed that Sanjay Dutt’s niece Nazia Hussain marks her debut in Punjabi cinema with his home production.

Director turned Producer Rajiv Dhingra who had bagged his 1st ever Filmfare “Debut Award” had started his career with theatre. He did serious theatre for a decade and had directed many plays during that time. After doing theatre around a decade, he joined television in the year 2008. His 1st ever show was the Great Indian Laughter Challenge from then on he did many shows on TV. His breakthrough show was Comedy Nights With Kapil which was Rajiv Dhingra’s brain child. His 2nd film was Firangi with Comedy King Kapil Sharma.

Director turned Producer Rajiv Dhingra exults, “I want to be associated with good people & good content. Like people in my journey had put their trust on me when I was new & gave me my 1st ever break. I want to contribute in my own way”.

Currently direcgtor turned producer Rajiv Dhingra is scripting his next Hindi film which is a social satire. The film will go on the floors in the upcoming year of 2019.

2 Indian Women To Conquer South Pole

It is almost a decade since Janice Meek, the Polar Racer, Ocean Rower & Europe’s only holder of 4 Guinness World Records, completed her trek to geographic North Pole by playing cricket at minus 28 degree with members of an Indian Navy expedition.
In Dec, this year, Janice Meek will be leading an all-women expedition to South Pole.
For this adventure, Janice Meek has put together a team of “ordinary women” whose ages cover 5 decades from 24 to 74.

“We are not soldiers, professional athletes or celebrities”, says Janice Meek. “We have come together to do something less ordinary & demonstrate how far women have come since Scott’s 1912 expedition when the idea of women contemplating the trek would have been unheard of.”
At 24, Tanvi Buch from Mumbai, studying Natural Resources Conservation at the University of British Columbia, is the youngest, Madhabilata Mitra, the Kolkata supermodel & entrepreneur behind Travelmate Escapades,; breast cancer survivor Caroline Geraerts from UK, marketing director, Aileen Crean from Kerry from Ireland, restaurateur & grand-daughter of Tom Crean, the Irish hero of Scott & Shackleton Antarctic expeditions.

These intrepid adventurers join Janice Meek, the oldest at 74, in this unique venture, a trek at temperatures that could reach minus 40 degree across the Antarctic’s unforgiving ice & snow in chilling & gusting winds.

“We were thrilled that in his State of Nation address, our Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi mentioned our Polar Maidens expedition as an example of Indian enterprise”, says Tanvi Buch. “We are now part of “Living Bridge” the India, UK initiative to promote closer trade, investment & cultural relations between our 2 great countries”, echoed Madhabilata Mitra.

The Polar-Maidens expedition will raise funds for INSPIRATIONALLE Foundation (UK) which aims to support women of all ages wanting to do something extra–ordinary.

With a 50 year age ranging across the team monitoring the physical & mental impact of 12 hour days skiing & trekking in extreme conditions of cold with altitude for up to 20 days before reaching the Pole is important. How does a 73 year old deal with conditions compared to a 23 year old, how will a breast cancer survivor in her 50’s react, or a 30 year old who regularly tackles the Himalayas compare with the recovery rates of Tom Crean’s grand-daughter.

Paul Carter, Deputy Head of Mission, British Deputy High Commission, Mumbai avers: “I’ve met the global team including Madhabilata, Tanvi & expedition leader Janice Meek, and it is truly remarkable to see this Living Bridge of people from UK & India, brought together for their shared love for adventure. I’m delighted to see & support this spirit of collaboration.”

Rajiv Dalal – Inspirationalle UK Director, Regional Director South East Asia & India instrumental behind polar maidens India team also came to talk about this expedition.

Miss & Mrs World Super Model – 2018 launched today in Bangalore.

More than 37 countries international models are participating in the grand finale in Malaysia.

Miss Sufi syed is selected as finalist from India.

Competetion is proposed to be held from 5th to 9th December 2018 in PALACE OF GOLDEN HORSES, Malaysia.

Mr. Dato Sri Glen, President of Agro Malaysia, Founder & Chairman of DSG Creations, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Announced about competetion today at Bangalore.

Having worked on the costumes for films like “Rangeela”, “Mohabbatein”, “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” and “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil” in his over-two-decade journey in Hindi filmdom, ace fashion designer and couturier Manish Malhotra says Bollywood has a powerful international impact.

In his stint in the Hindi film industry, Malhotra has styled the who’s who of Bollywood, including names like Tabu, Rekha, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Sridevi, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Priyanka Chopra, among many others.

Asked if celebrities play a big role in driving a designer’s popularity, Malhotra told IANS in an e-mail interview from Mumbai: “In a country where cinema and its influence is as prevalent as it is, actors are looked up to as much for their sartorial choices as for their performances. Bollywood has a powerful international footprint, with massive popularity, including social media following, not to mention a front row seat to every fashion week.

“It is only natural that actors mirror the evolution of modern culture on-screen, and off it — with their personal style.”

Malhotra ventured into the world of Hindi showbiz by designing costumes for actress Juhi Chawla in 1990 for the movie “Swarg”.

He also designed ensembles for actress Urmila Matondkar for “Rangeela” in 1995, for which he garnered recognition. Since then, he has been on a roll and has designed costumes for films like “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham…”, “Raja Hindustani”, “Veer-Zaara” and “Dhadak”, as well as carved a niche with his own brand.

Malhotra launched his label in 2005. He says designing clothes for films is his “first love”.

“I’ll never leave them, and they’ll never leave me — hopefully. Today, if I had a choice between a couture collection and the movies, I would choose the latter. For me today, it’s all about my label. I want to start a diffusion line, I want to open stores worldwide, I want to expand the avenues of my label. Maybe 10 years ago, I wouldn’t have had that mindset, but today I do,” he said.

From styling the likes of Kajol, Karisma Kapoor, Kareena, Rani Mukerji, Priyanka Chopra, Preity Zinta and even international singer Kylie Minogue — is there any personality left he would like to give a style twist with his designs?

“I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to work with such wonderful talents across generations, be it Karisma, Kareena, Anushka, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Priyanka, Kajol, and Alia Bhatt. It has been their confidence, grace and femininity that has continued to inspire me.”

Malhotra said he is always looking to work with trailblazers who are not afraid to experiment through fashion as a medium of self- expression.

Currently, the designer is looking forward to showcase his collection, inspired by his latest couture range Zween, at the first Fashion Weekend International (FWI) in Doha.

“Various aspects from the Middle Eastern culture — be it the centuries-old architecture, black and white cinema to the native flora and fauna — have been key inspirations for this collection,” he said, adding that he would be showcasing over 60 ensembles.

Aishwarya will be seen walking as the showstopper for Malhotra at FWI. He says the former beauty queen epitomises grace.

“Aishwarya is not only a dear friend but has also been my design muse for many years now. Having worked with her in various films, runway shows and red carpet appearances, it has always been a pleasure, given her strong work ethic,” he added.

IANS