Tailormade for the politician

Delhi airport was buzzing with activity in the winter of 1984. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah was among those present along with friends and fellow politicians, Sharad Pawar and NKP Salve. Out of the blue, he noticed Salve’s bandhgala — designed by me — and said he was mighty impressed with its look and cut. Abdullah was ecstatic when he was told that I was at the airport too. He was also pleasantly surprised when he got to know that I had a measuring tape with me. I took him to the VIP lounge at the airport and took his measurements there. I first made a sherwani for him. He loved it so much that I followed that with a suit, a pathani, a safari, and a kurta; he remains my client to date.

My brush with politicians was organic. Often one contact led to the other. When I was working in the film industry, some actors introduced me to a few political heavyweights. For instance, the likes of Dilip Kumar, Sunil Dutt, and Rajendra Kumar had excellent relations with top leaders such as Balasaheb Thackeray and Pawar.

While I was designing for film stars, I got a chance to make clothes for the likes of Salve, Patangrao Kadam, and Sushilkumar Shinde, among others, in the 1980s. I also worked with Ghulam Nabi Azad, who was Amrish Puri’s friend. Sunil Dutt and Sanjay Khan facilitated our meeting in 1985-86.

Dutt also introduced me to PC Alexander, former Governor of Maharashtra. At a party hosted by Alexander, and attended by Dutt and Marzban Patrawala (Congress MLA and Supreme Court lawyer), he was impressed by their attire and asked Johny Joseph (former chief secretary of Maharashtra) to find out who their tailor was. Joseph got in touch with me, and I made a suit for Alexander. He could not stop singing my praises.

Piyush Goyal’s father, Ved Prakash Goyal, connected me to the top BJP brass — Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, and Arun Sathe. Work flowed as word spread about the quality.

I met Pawar because of my industrialist friend Mama Kapadia, whose son used to get clothes made by me. This was 1983, and after our first meeting, I designed some clothes for him. He liked them a lot, and our partnership remains unbroken to this day. The Nationalist Congress Party bigwig and former CM of Maharashtra isn’t demanding when it comes to his sartorial choices — he prefers a white shirt and white trousers. However, it’s his wife Pratibha Pawar who takes a call on his clothes.

My association with the late Balasaheb Thackeray began around the same time. Theatre veteran Mohan Wagh, a relative of the Shiv Sena supremo, had worn a kurta-pyjama that the Sena chief liked. Wagh got me to meet him, and we hit it off instantly. I had used a new material for the kurta-pyjama. I made a white one for him and complemented it with a stole to complete the look. He loved it and began wearing the same material. At home, he would wear a kurta-lungi that I began designing for him. He would tell me to use a thick cloth; he did not like thin fabrics.

Once I asked Abdullah to send an off-white Kashmiri shawl for me. The Jammu and Kashmir leader sent that, and an additional saffron-coloured one as well. I gave that to Balasaheb, who was thrilled to bits.

Vilasrao Deshmukh was an extremely stylish politician, and was also very fond of clothes. He particularly loved safari suits. He was among the rare politicians who could carry any outfit — kurta-pyjama, dhoti-kurta, jacket, or a suit.

A day before Deshmukh was sworn in as CM, I made a golden bandhgala suit for him. There was no official confirmation, but when the Congress came to power in 1999, it was evident that he would get the top job. I made the outfit in a day, voluntarily, and presented it to him, much to his surprise. He was fascinated by what he saw and wore it for the function.

When the Shiv Sena-BJP combine came to power in Maharashtra in 1995, Manohar Joshi was made CM. A day before his oath-taking ceremony, Thackeray asked him to meet me and get his clothes stitched for the occasion. He wore a kurta-pyjama, although I had also made a bandhgala for him.

I still design clothes for Devendra Fadnavis. Blue is his favourite colour, so I try to give him variations in that when it comes to jackets. I observed him grow from mayor of Nagpur in 1997 to Chief Minister of Maharashtra in 2014. Over the years, he has started experimenting more with colours.

Earlier, politicians had a peculiar style of dressing; dhoti, kurta, pyjama, and jacket ruled that era. Everyone had fixed outfits. BJP stalwart LK Advani, for instance, would wear a jacket with three buttons. Former Deputy CM Gopinath Munde preferred a kurta-pyjama-jacket combination.

Today’s politicians are stylish, fashionable, and have an acute understanding of dressing. They also voice their tastes and preferences openly, without the fear of being judged. After 1985, people started wearing Jodhpuris and even polo necks in Parliament. I believe Deshmukh and Joshi were the most well-dressed politicians. Salve, who used to get his clothes from London, would be well-groomed too.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is stylish as well. It was amazing to work with LK Advani. He’s a simple man who wears anything that you give him.

— Excerpted with permission from Penguin Random House