Pooja Patel
Versatile actress Vidya Balan carries sari like no other. Her love for textiles and handcrafted sarees is well known, as she dorns the elegant outfit for almost every event. In her latest film Shakuntala Devi, which has released today on Amazon Prime, she is wearing some beautiful south cotton sarees.
The movie is based on late Guinness record-holder Shakuntala Devi, the wizard mathematician who has been called the human-computer.
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The saree loyalist has taken her love too seriously and has been ‘e-promoting’ Indian handlooms on her Instagram account.
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She’s drumming up some noise for #VocalForLocal!
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Here are a few of the pictures that she uploaded as part of her movie promotion, but which also highlights the diversity of the good old Indian attire.
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Simple and elegant. That’s how Balan looks in this Korvai Kora Cotton saree, which she had bought from a weaver’s exhibition in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore. It sports the peculiar zari border that is popular in the southern states of India. This beautiful red handwoven saree gets softer with each wear.
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This saree by Ayush Kejriwal, a designer who is known to give traditional Indian clothes a dash of eccentricity, is digitally printed. Kejriwal has carefully created it from mulberry silk to make it a low-waste process. Balan, in this post also emphasises that #VocalForLocal also means to keep in mind the sustainability factor in the process of manufacturing.
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Called the Chandni Raat sari, it is designed and made by Delhi-based Brij Bari. Handcrafted by weavers in Delhi, Balan has clubbed the mulmul cotton sari with a chic black, white and red striped blouse.
Rouka by Sreejith Jeevan’s handwoven Chanderi saree, in light hues of pink and green, is perfect for Indian summers. These handwoven sarees are part of Rouka’s ‘every inch of fabric’ initiative, which involves re-using waste fabric from their workshops to create surface ornamentation and textures, just like the white flowers in this one.
Not everyone can carry big, bold checkered patterns on a saree, but Balan does it just fine. The actor brought this Karaikudi Chettinad cotton saree from a local weaver, which has the traditional Madras checks. Such classic checkered saris originated in Chennai’s Karaikudi district, which the actor has clubbed with Nayantara gajra by Ami Mane Jewelry & Accessories.
We never thought maths could be worn! This ‘Mathematical equation saree’ has been especially handwoven by Odisha-based brand Utkalamrita for the movie promotions. It is a Sambalpuri bandha (tie and dye) silk, an Odiya style of weaving the sarees. This one was woven for over a period of one month in Kendupali (Odisha) using mulberry Bangalore silk yarn.
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