Be it fashion or filmmaking, celebrity favourite designer Manish Malhotra says it's all about storytelling for him.
Malhotra, whose career spans 35 years in showbiz, said he always wanted to start something which didn't have a direct connection with clothes and that's where his banner Stage5 Production comes in.
"When I want to work on something, which has nothing to do with clothes, what could it be? In my case, it would be movies. So I'm here to stay as a producer, as a designer, and I will work hard to curate and create some interesting stories," Malhotra told PTI on the sidelines of the Lakme Fashion Week X FDCI.
The ace designer announced the launch of his production banner in September 2023 and its first project is the suspense drama "Saali Mohabbat", which marks the directorial debut of seasoned actor Tisca Chopra.
Also in the lineup are films such as "Bun Tikki", starring Shabana Azmi, Zeenat Aman and Abhay Deol, and "Ul-jalool Ishq", featuring Vijay Varma, Fatima Sana Shaikh, and Naseeruddin Shah.
Malhotra said that his fascination with cinema began at the age of six and it continues till date.
"It's been 35 years. So I've closely watched producers, directors, I've also been friends with a lot of directors. I'm very interested in the screenplay. And so for me, films seem home," he added.
The 58-year-old, widely regarded as the designer who blended star power of cinema and fashion, started his costume design career in 1990 with "Swarg" and designed the complete look of Sridevi’s in "Gumrah" (1993).
Over the years, Malhotra designed costumes for popular Hindi films such as "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge", "Raja Hindustani", "Dil Toh Pagal Hai", "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" and "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham…". He won his first Filmfare Award for 1995 film "Rangeela", where he created looks for Urmila Matondkar.
Producing a film is not easy but he somehow feels he can do it.
"For me, it's my passion. It's not about profit or money-making, but it is as much as about backing the story, which many top producers won't probably do because maybe it's too intimate or it's small for them.
"But for me, it's about the story that should be told. So I'm enjoying doing that, looking into and curating the entire film, whether it's costume, art, dialogues, casting, all of it. We are now working on our next three projects, and so it's an interesting journey," he added.
On Sunday, Malhotra was in conversation with actor and influencer Kusha Kapila as part of Meta Fashion Talks X Manish Malhotra organised parallelly to LFW X FDCI.
At the event, the designer said the idea of turning producer struck him during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the film industry, he was known as someone who makes glamorous costumes for top film stars but Malhotra wanted to break the mould by starting a production company that supports "huge storytellers, different ideas".
"In fact, one actress friend of mine, when I called her for one of the films, she said, 'This is not you. And I didn't want to do this'. And I was like, 'I want to do this'. She said, 'But it's not your kind of film'. I said, 'That's exactly it. As a producer, I want to make those movies which you probably think are not of my kind'."
According to Malhotra, storytelling has no boundaries.
"Everything has to be fluid. I think after COVID, you're fine accepting a designer making a film or changing the kind of clothing... Fashion's taken such a big change. The food industry has taken leaps and leaps. After COVID, we're all so much more accepting of things changing."
The designer, who entered showbiz as a model at 17, recalled being paid Rs 2,000 for his first advertisement.
"My father thought I was going to become an actor. And I was like, 'No, I'm not becoming an actor. I want to be either a film director or a designer'. In those days, there wasn't any course for fashion design for men in Mumbai and NIFT in Delhi had just started."
Describing himself as a "risk taker", Malhotra said he doesn't fear failure.
"I feel every day is not Sunday. Sometimes you are successful, and sometimes you aren't. You fail, you make mistakes. And it's absolutely fine to make mistakes. I was hellbent on being on the lookout for the actresses. And that meant working extra hours and not being paid for it. But I was okay with that.
"When it came to starting a label, I'd never even thought about getting into the business of fashion because I thought I'd always be a costume designer and stylist. But when the offers started coming home, like, 'Do you do wedding clothes?' I was like, 'No, I make clothes for movies'. But at one point of my time in my career, I said, 'Why don't I start a label because work is so popular?'" he added.
LFW X FDCI concludes on Sunday.
