DISCO FEVER

Actor Bhumi Pednekar channels the iconic style of singer-composer Bappi Lahiri, and discusses her personal and professional transformations.

- NANDINI BHALLA

Nandini Bhalla: Let’s rewind to the ’90s... tell me about your earliest memory of cinema?

Bhumi Pednekar: “I remember it distinctly...my earliest memory of cinema was watching Rangeela [1995] in a theatre. And even though I was very young—four- or five years old, maybe—I was absolutely mesmerised with the way Urmila Matondkar looked. Then I remember watching Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! [1994] and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge [1995]. You know, that scene, when Raj Malhotra [Shah Rukh Khan] picks up Simran’s [Kajol’s] bra? I remember grinning so hard while watching it. I don’t think I really understood what it meant, but I found it funny, and that scene stayed with me. I also remember watching Raja Hindustani, and later, crying and throwing a fit because my mom wouldn’t get me the same outfit Karisma Kapoor wore in the film—it was a red, micro-mini dress with very interesting sleeves. I think my love for cinema was deeply linked to my love for beauty and fashion. That’s where it all began.

Growing up, I remember my mom and my aunt being very inclined towards beauty and fashion. And because my aunt was the younger one, I would go through her wardrobe and try on her clothes and shoes. I would sit in front of her make-up vanity box and try on her lipsticks. And when we would visit my cousins, I would ask them to play dress-up. So I have always enjoyed experimenting with fashion and beauty, the power of transformation has fascinated me. And even in the films I watched, I always noticed the outfits and make-up.“

NB: For this special issue of Harper’s Bazaar, you have been dressed in the bold style of late singer and composer, Bappi Lahiri...