Veteran actor Sharmila Tagore, who was billed as the star attraction at the recent India Runway Week, shared some style tips with Unnati Joshi
Known for her poise and grace, Sharmila Tagore walked the ramp draped in a studded pastel sari and retrograde cream blouse from designer Rohini Gugnani’s collection. Aimed at revisiting fashion from the Awadhi era, we could see her muse in Tagore who posits herself as a timeless royal beauty.
“Style for me means comfort and elegance. It should complement one’s personality. Being under-dressed is much better than being overdressed,” she advised.
Her journey in the film industry has been quite a sweep, from being the first Indian actor to wear a bikini on screen to her stint as the chief of the Censor Board. So we asked her how the gender bias was still prevalent in the industry and whether the disparity between male and female actors was being bridged. “There is no parity and male actors are still getting more roles while the women are getting less which needs to change. Society is patriarchal, so film industry by definition is certainly patriarchal. I want it to change more”, she retorted. “The general perception about women in Indian cinema is definitely changing with films like Piku, Kahaani and Zoya Akhtar’s Dil Dhadakne Do. The way female characters dress, speak and present themselves is much better then our times. In my time, we were given secondary roles. A woman protagonist is now being appreciated by the audience but we still need to drive business. A lot needs to change,” she added.
At 70, Tagore is as graceful as she was in her heyday. On taking a prolonged break, she conceded, “Working is tiring. Also I have learnt to be a bit more relaxed.”