In praise of saree

Draping a saree is an art by itself. The five to six metre piece of cloth needs to be worn skillfully or it could end up revealing more than what it conceals. Certain women look good in sarees and certain don’t. It is as simple as that

Do all tall women look good in saree? Height is certainly an advantage but shorties too can look equally elegant in a saree. It all boils down to how you wear and carry it, whether you are tall or short doesn’t matter.

Today, young women keep it for special occasions. Most office goers shun saree and opt for the ubiquitous churidhar kameez for the sake of convenience. They can’t be blamed because saree doesn’t give the freedom that churidhar does while traveling in a bus or riding a two wheeler. Generally, churidhar kameez is considered a safe bet as it covers the body and hides love handles as well!

There is another reason for evading saree. Just walking along the road wrapped in one can be tricky. If careless, this wonderful piece of garment can offer an open invitation for oglers and eve-teasers. But to those keen on flaunting their body covertly there is nothing to beat saree. It has given saree a dubious reputation in films. For songs shot in rain, the actress inevitably has to wear transparent sarees to get the seductive look. A clinging wet saree will melt hero’s heart faster than ice. Yes, there are a few saree aficionados who consider it safer and surprisingly feel exposed in churidhars !

I plan to focus on the celebration of saree. Since there are lots of celebrities, right from Indira Gandhi to my former colleague Leela Menon, who can make saree look like the best dress designed for women, I’ll limit the write-up to actors who stand out in the crowd in a saree.

Vidya Balan comes to the mind first. Here is someone who takes pride in donning one when saree is given the least sartorial preference in Bollywood. Saree with the combination of long sleeved blouses gives her killer looks something which other women crave for in variety of glam clothes. She played Amitabh Bacchan’s mother in Paa. But she pulled it off wearing lovely sarees that amplified her improving acting skills

The picture of Zarina Wahab in a saree is forever entrenched in the mind of Malayalis. After the runaway hit Madanotsavam in which she appeared mostly in western clothes, people were thrilled to see her in a simple Kerala saree crooning the melodious `naadha nee varum’ in Chaamaram. A North Indian, she looked every inch a Malayali in the film. Again in the movie Paalangal, she looked equally splendid in saree.

Sumalatha, who played the heroine of Mammootty and Mohanlal in several films, has a body which lends itself to wearing a saree. Her height is a plus point. Saree brings out her beauty in the song `Poomaname’ from Nirakkoottu

Shobana never looked more beautiful than when she was in saree. Saree began to look good on her in the late eighties as she began to mature as an actress. In the nineties she was the best advertisement for saree. One can’t imagine Ganga in any other dress but saree in Manichitrathazhu. Any other dress won’t have the same effect. Ok, in the crucial scene she came in dancer’s attire. But that was for a short time. In the Hindi version Vidya Balan was the right choice for Shobana as she is another stunner in saree.

Going further back to Seventies, saree nearly slipped out of fashion. Bell bottoms were the rage. Saree was the rule and not the exception before this period. Sharmila Tagore, Zeenat Aman, Parveen Babi and Neetu Singh, Mumtaz etc ushered in a craze for fashionable wear. But saree held its own, thanks to heroines in serious films. I should say that Sharmila was quite graceful in a saree especially in Bengali films. Hema Malini did wear saree to a good effect in some movies. But being a natural beauty she looked riveting in any other dress like Aishwarya Rai or Madhuri Dikshit.

But the same cannot be said for cat-eyed Rakhee. I can’t visualize this Bengali beauty in any other dress. She was a typical example of saree suiting a short person. Just have a look at her in films Blackmail, Trishul, Kabhi Kabhi, Muqaddar Ka Sikander and Jurmana. The song `Sawan ke jhoole pade’ in Jurmana has her ample pallu billowing in the breeze to the words `aanchal na chode pawan.’. Another not-so-popular actress Vidya Sinha was gorgeous in saree despite her pleasantly plump body. Anybody who has seen the movie Rajnigandha will vouch for that.

Cut to new millennium and you have the glamorous Sushmita Sen in a saree sweeping a hapless Sharukh Khan off the feet in Main Hoon Na. So ravishing she looked that the viewers did not mind the fact that the saree didn’t cover all the parts of her six-foot frame.

When I discussed this topic with my friends they told me not to forget the doe-eyed south Indian beauty Bhanupriya. Saree adds to her dusky charms. Bhanupriya in saree made watching Azhakiya Ravanan a memorable experience. Like Bhanupriya, eyes are the first thing you notice in Madhavi. The allure of her eyes topped by a prominent bindi together with the simple and chic sarees she wore had a devastating effect on the Malayali viewers in the eighties. This was before she became popular as Unniyarcha of Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha. She projected a dignified persona totally different from her swimsuit-clad sultry siren image in Tamil films.

Sneha has taken saree to greater heights. She looks elegance personified in a saree. I’ve seen her appear in many Tamil song scenes in a saree. No wonder the heroes are floored! Talking of dark beauties one can’t ignore Nandita Das. Saree enhances her appeal. How quietly sensual was she in a saree in 1947 Earth.

Among the present lot of Malayali heroines Samvritha Sunil alone stands out in saree. Her height obviously helps to make her lovely in a saree. I’ve also felt that saree suited Samyukta Varma more than other dresses.

My fervent hope is that saree doesn’t run out of fashion in the invasion of new dresses over the years. For saree does make many Indian women more beautiful.