Manish Malhotra’s career moved from styling actors for films to building a fashion house and producing films of his own. The thread he identifies across those roles is a lasting interest in cinema, character and instinct—but each shift brought a different kind of creative responsibility.
How Malhotra entered film costume work
Malhotra says his first film assignment was styling Juhi Chawla for a song in David Dhawan’s Swarg. He dates the assignment to 1989; the film was released in 1990, according to a separate Vogue India interview. He has said he chose film work because he did not have the money or formal training to launch a collection.
He learned by watching tailors cut and stitch, picking up the language of the work and sketching quickly. In his recollections, costume stylists had little access to scripts or formal conversations about a character’s look. He says he asked directors for scripts, worked long days without an assistant, and relied on family support through the difficult early years. These are his retrospective accounts, not independently documented records of working hours.
In 2015, Malhotra described himself as having completed 25 years as a Bollywood costume designer and 10 years as a fashion designer. His early work included modelling in college, working in a boutique from age 19 and designing by 21. He says he left modelling because he wanted to be taken seriously as a costume designer. Vogue India’s 2015 interview recounts that period.
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From styling clothes to shaping characters
Malhotra identifies Gumrah (1993) as an important early breakthrough, followed by films including Rangeela and Raja Hindustani. Scroll reports that he received the first Filmfare Award for Costume Design for Rangeela (1995). The film’s release year is not necessarily the award ceremony year.
He says that costume work starts with understanding who a character is, rather than treating a brief description such as “sexy” or “sensuous” as sufficient. “But what does the character do, who is she?” he asks. His approach draws on a performer’s personal style, then adapts it to the film’s character and setting.
Why believable screen clothes mattered
Malhotra points to Jab We Met as a turning point because Geet’s clothes felt stylish without seeming removed from everyday life. Her kurta and jacket combined Indian dressing with a modern, practical and comfortable look. He connects this sort of screen styling with combinations people might wear themselves, such as kurtis with jeans or salwar kameez with a backpack.
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Scroll’s 2025 profile also describes the fashion influence of films including Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, Rockstar, Om Shanti Om and Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. That is a qualitative account of cultural reach, not a measured study of how much any film changed fashion.
Choosing a look for the scene
His examples show how costume decisions can serve the composition of a scene as well as a character. For a song in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, he recalls choosing a bright green outfit for Kajol so she would stand out among the dancers around her. For the “Desi Girl” sequence in Dostana, he says he proposed a silver-grey sari with a sequinned petticoat and blouse as an alternative to gold. He has also said he considers whether audiences will respond to a look.
Building a fashion house changed the job
Malhotra founded the House of Manish Malhotra in 2005, according to the official brand biography. The house describes its development from a couture atelier into a broader creative business spanning fashion, jewellery, beauty and film production.
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In a 2015 interview, he recalled that the early label took several years to develop a distinct look. He later concentrated more on Indian dressing, cut and fabric. In 2017, he described fashion as the next stage after costume design: instead of creating a look for a film under a director’s vision, he became responsible for the label’s creative identity and business goals. “Launching a label meant that now I was captain of the ship,” he said.
Malhotra has also said he had no design-school background and learned through observation and work. He described education as something that can empower and anchor decisions, while still emphasizing the importance of passion. His personal route is not an argument that formal education is unnecessary. Vogue India’s 2017 interview discusses the transition and his view of learning.
Returning to cinema as a producer
In a 2025 interview with Scroll, Malhotra described film production as a return to a long-standing interest. He says he had wanted to produce, direct and write, but building the fashion brand and opening a Delhi store repeatedly took his attention. During Covid, he says, he decided to start a production house. By the interview’s publication, he described having produced three films: Saali Mohabbat, Bun Tikki and Gustaakh Ishq.
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He presents producing as a way to tell different kinds of stories and support filmmakers who may not have the backing of large production houses. He says the role also involves decisions across casting, editing, music and aesthetics, giving him a broader remit than a costume assignment.
Three projects, different creative directions
Malhotra says he did not want to be known for repeating one kind of film. He describes Saali Mohabbat as a script Tisca Chopra brought to him after a stretch in which no script had excited him. He says the world of Gustaakh Ishq drew him in as a simple, classic love story with poetry, and names Vishal Bhardwaj, Gulzar, cinematographer Manush Nandan and sound designer Resul Pookutty among its collaborators.
These descriptions reflect what Malhotra said at the time of the interview; they do not establish where or whether the films are currently available to watch. The interview also records his interest in possible future projects involving mythology, traditional stories, an adaptation based on Amar Chitra Katha or a musical. He has considered directing, but said he had not decided whether that would be his path.
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What connects the different roles
Malhotra describes the through-line as personal rather than prescriptive: “My work has always been passion-led and instinct-led.” In costume work, that instinct is directed toward a character and the scene; in fashion, it helps define a label; in production, he says, it leads him toward stories that differ from audience expectations.
The shifts are also practical. A costume designer works within a film’s story and director’s vision. A fashion-house founder must sustain a creative identity and business. A producer can shape a project across several departments and decide which stories to support. Malhotra’s career shows how a love of cinema can lead through all three roles without making their responsibilities interchangeable.
Scroll’s 2025 interview brings together his reflections on character, audience, risk and film production. For his earlier account of entering film work and learning on the job, see Vogue India’s “I’m done with films”.
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