Style File: John's Cool, Tanushree's not, Tabu so bland

By: Deepa Gahlot, IndiaFM
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Mercifully, the media hasn't gone completely bonkers about star wardrobes at Cannes this year. But John Abraham has come in for some bashing for attending in jeans and chappals. Actually, it takes tremendous confidence and terrific cool to go to a festival that spells glamour, dressed like a tramp. It shows he couldn't care less for the trappings of stardom and all the artifice that goes with the 'red carpet'. While the other guys (Irrfan Khan, Abhishek Bachchan) looked like waiters in their tuxedos, John stood out for his individuality and cocked a snook at the world.

On the other hand, Bipasha Basu's sari may have been glamorous, but the 'pallu-down' look is undignified and slightly vulgar. Wearing a low-cut gown is fine, but a sari ought to be worn properly, or wear a sarong. Bipasha's look was only slightly better than Mallika's atrocious outfit last year at Cannes, when she all but spilled out of her 'choli'.

One is not even commenting in Aishwarya Rai's white gown, since she got her share of boos -but it's a relief she didn't show up at Cannes in her 'bahu ' look with an inch of 'sindoor' in her hair and 'mangalsutra' hanging out over silk sari!

Easily the worst dressed actress on film (off screen that dubious honour goes to Celina Jaitley) was Tanushree Dutta in Raqeeb. Most of her outfits were totally hideous and did not suit her slightly bulky figure. The excessive make-up and chunky jewellery (probably picked up from the same shop as Balaji soap characters) only made her look tarty.

Tanushree should have seen her movie in the theatre-every time in appeared one outfit worse than the other, the girls in the hall went, "Eeee what is she wearing!" Funnier still was Sharman Joshi dancing on a beach in three layers of clothing, when the girls dancing with him were in bikinis! That's the problem with not having a Salman Khan physique - the guy can't dare to take his shirt off! Time to start pumping iron, Sharman!

The problem with being considered a serious actress is that poor Tabu gets saddled with a 'behenji' wardrobe like in Cheeni Kum. She is supposed to be single in the film, not traditional or shy, so why couldn't she have been given a more stylish costume. Young women today, particularly those traveling abroad would wear trousers, jeans, skirts, jackets. But her character looks like she packed all her Fab India outfits to London. The other noticeable thing was that she just flung a shawl over her shoulders to cope with London weather, when the hero Amitabh Bachchan looked dressed for winter. The cancer-suffering little girl (Swini Khara) ran around in capris and sleeveless tees. The weather was different for everyone, or what?

Amitabh looked classy most of the time, but for that all-white suit, that could only have come from an old Sicilian Mafia warehouse!

Howlarious style quote comes from Celina Jaitley, who requests that she not be "judged by her plunging necklines." First of all, who's judging her; secondly who buys her clothes for her? If she thinks her exposed cleavage makes her look like the bimbette she isn't, all it takes is a neckline a few inches higher. Nobody expects her to dress like a nun! But then who goes to an NGO event dressed in micro shorts. Next she'll be pouting that people are judging her by her thighs!

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