Designer Sabyasachi to make directorial debut (Interview)

New Delhi, Oct 23 (IANS) Ace fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee, who has been dressing up Bollywood stars, is now all set to direct them too.

'I plan to direct a film in the near future. The simple reason for this creative outburst is that apart from being a designer I want to reach every household,' Mukherjee told IANS while refusing to divulge any further details.

'Presently I am writing a script that is based on one of the stories by Rabindranath Tagore. However, I have not decided to direct the same script as yet,' explained the style guru who was in town to unveil Tao, his bathroom and bedroom range.

The innovative style guru forayed into filmdom as a costume designer for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Black' and walked away with the national award for his creative brilliance.

His love affair with fabric continued on screen with Ravi Chopra's 'Babul' in which he designed outfits for Rani Mukerji and Amitabh Bachchan, and in Pradeep Sarkar's recently released 'Laaga Chunari Mein Daag' he dressed up Rani, Jaya Bachchan and Konkona Sen Sharma.

Though both the films failed at the box-office, he earned rave reviews for his designs that were traditional yet contemporary.

Mukherjee's collections are known for showcasing his love for the country and its culture with the perfect use of traditional fabrics and techniques.

His celebrity clientele includes Tabu, Shabana Azmi, Aishwarya Rai, Sushmita Sen and Kareena Kapoor to name a few. Amongst the international actresses, Rene Zelleweger and Reese Witherspoon have sported his label.

The style expert said people's fascination for the West makes his heart ache.

'It is sad that the people belonging to the upper class of our country have lost track. It is very important to recognise our roots, otherwise we end up being nothing. It is painful to see that the West discovers India much before we discover ourselves.

'It is miserable that today youngsters feel embarrassed sporting khadi, they opt for georgettes instead. It is a shame!' roared an emotional Mukherjee.

A 1999 graduate of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Mukherjee won the Femina British Council Most Outstanding Young Designer of India Award in 2001 that took him to London for an internship with eminent designer Georgina von Etzdorf.

He debuted at the India Fashion Week in 2002 to rave reviews from the domestic and international media and made his international mark the next year by winning the grand award at the Mercedes Benz New Asia Fashion Week in Singapore.

Having participated in the 2004 Milan Fashion Week, Mukherjee was also invited to participate in the New York Fashion Week and London Fashion Week exhibition for the last two years consecutively.

'People are embarrassed being an Indian. Though if you travel overseas you will realise it is better being a first class citizen in one's own country than being labelled a third class citizen everywhere else.

'To my amazement when I showcased at the New York ramp, all edgy stores approached me because of my collection's originality and ethnicity,' he maintained.

The 32-year-old designer is equally passionate about going green.

'There is no future without being organic, be it clothing or anything else. In fact what people are doing the world over is simplifying lives and that is the only way out.

'However I don't understand why our designers are making an issue out of it. It seems that suddenly everybody has woken up after a long slumber. But some really good Indian designers have for long been using organic fabric and natural dyes, which are eco-friendly.'

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