NOT since Amitabh Bachchan’s famous open-neck, knotted shirt of Deewar has the film fraternity of Bombay exercised such a decisive impact on Indian dressing styles as it is doing today. From Punjab to Pondicherry, everybody wants to be a clone of Salman Khan, Kajol, Govinda or Aishwarya.

While Kajol’s lycra blouses in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai are being copied by most saree-wearers, Aishwarya’s ghagra-cholis of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam are seen at all marriage functions from Calcutta to Coimbatore.

Just as Sanjay Dutt’s frayed jeans of Vaastav are reappearing in the wardrobe of every teenager, Bobby Deol’s sunglasses of Soldier are creating a stir in all colleges. Likewise, Urmila Matondkar’s Rangeela hot pants are still a craze in party circles.

Observes Manish Malhotra, the designer who gave Urmila the ‘sex siren look’: "Filmi fashion is fast replacing branded styles. The trend started with people rejecting labels unless they were individualised. But exclusivity costs money and not everybody can afford it."

Stars themselves resist the pressure to be victims of fashion. Sunny Deol may covet his collection of designer watches and brother Bobby could keep stacking his imported sunglasses, but neither of them would ever flaunt the tags.

Similarly, Mahima Chaudhury is always seen wearing sarees or salwar-kameezes in public, but at home and with friends, she is in designer shirts, jeans, capris, spaghetti- strapped tops and polo necks. For these, she shops abroad.

Even Hritik Roshan, the latest style icon, is seen wearing T-shirts one size too small (so that the cameras can catch the glint of those magnificent muscles), but when he is not on movie duty, he just wears loose white shirts and ordinary jeans.

It’s the same with Karisma Kapoor, whose makeover from a gauche Govinda co-star to a svelte churidar-kurta clad Rani Hindustani was engineered by Manisha Malhotra. Little wonder, he has become a must-have designer for every Hindi film star today.

According to the designer, who admits having a "secret fetish" for labels like DKNY, Banana Republic and Gap, there are five pointers to filmi fashion:

• The east-west fusion look is in.
  

•  For men, fitted short shirts are hot.
  

•  For women, it’s the 70s look with lots of glitter and shimmer, and shorter kurtas.
  

•  The most happening colours are fuschia, mint green and pewter.
  

• Jeans are no longer de-classe, even on formal occasions.
  

Effectively, it is the casual understated look that is catching on. Raveena Tandon, for instance, might have set the Arabian Sea on fire with her lime-green short skirt in Sheher ki Ladki, but left to herself she would rather be in her loose salwar-kameezes or trousers.

Even Govinda is only seen in "sober clothes, without labels" off-screen. He had, however, paved the way for Salman Khan to wear bright red shirts with equally bright -coloured trousers. The bicep-hugging T-shirt, see-through shirts and body show came later.

Clearly, being larger than life at all times can be exhausting for a star. But then, there have been some happy exceptions. Off-screen, Amitabh Bachchan does not shy away from wearing Armani and Gucci suits with Piaget or Bulgari watches. Shahrukh Khan loves carrying Tommy Hilfiger on his chest.

Recently, Amitabh liked Karan Johar’s bandhgala coat for friend Aditya Chopra’s Mohabbatein so much that he wore it to the sets of a television show he was hosting. Shahrukh too is known to often keep his ‘filmi clothes’ for personal use.

Then there are stars whose accessories not only set off trends, but also make personal statements. Some striking examples from the past include Dev Anand’s cravats, Raaj Kumar’s white shoes, Meena Kumari’s black scarves and Rekha’s silver jewellery.

The latest is the bandhini (tie‘n’dye) dupatta Jackie Shroff wore in Tridev. He has a large collection of Armani and Rohit Bal suits, but as his wife Ayesha (also his stylist) points out, his favourites are the bandhini scarves. He wears them even with formal western suits. (MF)