BENGALURU: Prasad Bidapa’s fascination with people, both ordinary and extraordinary is something that defines him. This column is about all the interesting people he meets in the course of his life and work.
Neeta Lulla
Neeta Lulla to me is a designer who epitomises Bollywood, with all its glitter, glamourand glitz! In town recently to present her collection,Neeta remains the sweet and simple girl she’salways been at heart. At the ornate luncheon buffet laid out at the event, Neeta demanded to know where the rasam and rice was being served! She considers herself a South Indian, having grown up in Hyderabad. She still visits that city regularly to catch up with family and friends. I’ve had the privilege of working with her for many years, and she never ceases to amaze me with the beautiful collections she puts out year after year. Exquisite detailing and a finger on the pulse of trending styles makes her one of the most sought after designers. She works as a costume designer too, and her work in Bhansali’s Devdas took on epic proportions as they dressed two of India’s biggest divas – Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai. More recently, her work for Kangana Ranaut in Manikarnika set a lot of trending silhouettes for brides this season.
Paresh Lamba
At a very chic pre-show soirée at the Sheraton Grand,Paresh Lamba hosted a few close friends and family. His two grown up sons work with him now, bringing a fresh energy and youthful exuberance to his collections. The afternoon was intimate and the food simply superb, as was the conversation. I loved his collection, especially the striped suits that looked contemporary and modern.Paresh dresses a lot of Indian celebrities, creating ensembles for men that range from the classic to the current with stylish ease.
The May Queen Ball At The Bangalore Club
It’s that time of the year when Bengaluru’s elite club presents the May Queen Ball, an annual extravaganza where the lovely ladies of the club compete for three titles.Apart from the main title of May Queen, they also have the May Princess for teenagers and the May Empress for women of 41 plus, quite my favourite category. The May Princess this year was Trisha Alur, Simran Naik won May Queen and Pankaja K Murti won the May Empress Title. The ladies were put through a fun 10-day training program where we teach them stage presentation skills, fitness, hairstyling, make-up and grooming, which they thoroughly enjoy.
Nayanika Chatterjee
India’s original supermodel proves that age is just a number! I have had the privilege of knowing her since she first started modelling in the ‘80’s and came down to Bengaluru to do a Wearhouse show for us.Marriage and motherhood followed, and she soon started training young models in a superb program in Delhi. She moved naturally into choreography, and her work has been widely appreciated at Rajasthan Heritage Week and other Fashion Weeks. Nayanika remains the bright, fun-loving person she always was, and continues to be. A trained Ceramist from the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, Nayanika is
married to the well known TV actor Gurpreet Singh,with whom she has a daughter, Nayantara.
Prasad Bidapa is a Bangalorean who presents fashion promotions all over India and abroad, and is committed to promoting heritage handlooms and khadi.