Thursday, July 22, 2010

Remember the '70's ? They are coming back!

What instantly comes to your mind when we talk about the 1970s? Needless to say, only two things instantly strike our minds, hip hop music and the retro fashion.

It was the era when fashion industry was growing in Europe. From the mid 1960s, American impact on Indian silver screen was visible. The Indian culture was blending with the Western. First thing this blend brought was the change in fashion.

In the 1970s bobby print shirts, short jackets, bell bottom pants, big goggles, skirt-blouse and thin sarees had become the first choice of Bollywood's glamour icons. Bollywood divas like Mumtaz, Sharmila Tagore and Asha Parekh sizzled in thin sarees, while B'wood's first super star Rajesh Khanna, action man Dharmendra and the angry young man Amitabh Bachchan made the bobby print shirts and bell bottom pants favorite among people. Eventually, these things went out of fashion, but with the launch of 'Om Shanti Om' in 2007, the retro theme made a comeback. The fever gripped the nation when Karina dazzled in a retro style saree in song 'zoobie doobie...' from superhit movie '3 idiots'. The theme was again used in movie 'Once upon a time in Mumbai'. In one of his recent movies, Akshay Kumar has worn a leather jacket and a scarf around his neck. So, what's retro about it? Remember, Rishi Kapoor wearing a leather jacket a scarf in his first movie 'Bobby'. Even Vinod Khanna used to wear it the same way.

It's not only the silver screen that's gone 40 years back. The ad-filmmakers are also using it widely. The Dairymilk chocolate ad 'Aaj pahali taarikh hai...' was instant hit. A recent ad of Vivel soap features characters dressed like Jitendra and Leena Chandavarkar in famous song 'Dhal gaya din, ho gayi sham…' from 1970 movie 'Humjoli'. The two hippy-type looking guys in the commercial of Cadbury's Five Star chocolate are also dressed up the old fashioned way. Oh! will it be right to call it 'old fashion'.

The retro mania doesn't end here; the theme is also used in many TV serials during scenes especially having old songs. Needless to say, it's also popular in theme-based parties. Well, so much projection of the style on the screen was bound to make an impact on people. Broad checks, short jackets, bell bottoms, lacy hairbands, big goggles and many other accessories of the 70s have hit the market and are doing a great business.

Well, the blend of old and new is also seen. The bell bottoms are now low-waist jeans and bobby print is used on modern styled dresses too. The tops have reduced a bit in length and slight changes have taken place in designs of sarees.

When I asked a young girl wearing a short top and a bell bottom jeans, why she was dressed like that, she instantly replied, "It's the 'latest' fashion." Hmmm, seems she has never seen Zeenat Amaan or Parveen Babi.

Well, the fact of the matter is 'retro' is no more retro, which means 'old'. And with more and more films and commercials using the theme the fever is surely increase in future. Who knows, one day the picture on a city road may become identical to the one taken 40 years back. Picture abhi baki hai dost!


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