Shilpa Shetty: Be bling, buy bling

Bling is king, bling is king, bling is king…No Cleopatra would dare to shine so. Coined in the late Nineties by rapper BG in a song of the same name and originally intended to evoke the “sound” of light hitting silver or platinum (such as the Colgate “ting”), “bling”, described in The Oxford Dictionary as elaborate clothing or jewellery and the appreciation of it, is now everywhere. Definitely so in India. From Shilpa Shetty’s incandescent smile to Rakhi Sawant’s, well, everything that is on show (which leaves little for the imagination). Rakhi has diamante on the eyelids, shimmer makeup on her cheeks, chumki-studded fishnet stockings, strappy patent leather killer heels, bling navel tattoo and — not to forget — Swarovski-studded G-string (“even her hair is bling!” exclaims adman Prahlad Kakkar). A Christmas tree at least has the decency to show the green bits underneath.

And Shahnaz Hussain? She is a monument to bling.

But where did it all begin? Though Elvis (is that why he is still spotted so often?) and Hindi film vamps had embodied it for decades, like so many other good — and bad — things, many of which retired but are doing the rounds now as retro, bling caught the eye in a major way in the early Eighties. Disco. Abba. Nazia Hassan and Biddu. The age when Mithun’s sequin shirts and Jeetendra’s shimmering shoes lit up the inside of theatres. Sridevi dancing to Nainon mein sapna was bling. If the vamp was bling, so was the sexy heroine — Parveen Babi singing Raat baaki like a siren in a shimmery black dress — bling.

But bling then wasn’t every one’s cup of tea. If Parveen would be glamorously, sensuously bling in Jawani jaanemann, Smita Patil, in the same film, would be scorching in a white cotton sari with a red border, wet, and Amitabh Bachchan, draped around her. She was oh-so-unbling and hot.

Bling became a part of our lives in the late Nineties. For that was when Britney Spears, Karan Johar, teen pop and designer glitter invaded our minds.

Spears came in with her brand of teenage pop, but her bling clothes and accessories left a far greater influence. That coinciding with Bollywood waking up to fashion, bling made rapid inroads into several film sets and wardrobes. “Bling was no longer associated with the loud, over the top style of the 80s Bollywood. Bling became fun, it became cool. Bling was reborn,” says Delhi-based fashion designer Gauri Singhania.

Saas-bahu soaps

BLING IT ON

There is of course classy bling — Om Shanti Om and Sushmita Sen — and trashy bling — Jhoom Barabar Jhoom and, well, what can we do without her — Rakhi Sawant. Rekha and Kirron Kher are also classy bling, if not classics. “Preity Zinta in her personal life is really classy bling,” says fashion designer Shahana Dutt, but Shekhar Suman and most rap artistes, many feel, are trashy bling.

But bling is everywhere. “Bling has been big in the fashion world for a while, but now it is slowly making its way into almost everything that we see around us,” says fashion designer Kallol Dutta.

“We have ladies asking us to add ‘servoski’ to their saris,” smiles a Salt Lake boutique owner. ‘Servoski’ is of course Indian for Swarovski, which is just about anything that is glittery in effect. At the same time, the Couture Week held in Mumbai in September last year was an unadulterated celebration of bling.

At weddings, the classic Benarasi is being dumped for zardosi saris and jewellery is no longer limited to gold. “Multicolored diamante bindis that shine a lot more than the chandan phonta are making their way to the bride’s forehead,” says beautician Pooja Chandiramani. Shiny clutch bags, glittery hair clips, shimmery makeup, as-shiny-as-it-gets decor, bling is a permanent guest at our weddings. Durga Puja spells the license to go the bling way. Bling on saris, shoes, belts and even men’s kurtas and shirts are a common sight at pandals. “Even children’s clothes, especially the ones sold during festival time, are so high on bling now,” exclaims homemaker Mita Chakraborty. Not to mention the Puja pandals.

Saris seem to bear the brunt of the bling fixation. “The demand for heavily embellished zardosi saris is on the rise, especially among women in their 20s and 30s,” says Vikas Patwardhan, an employee of a Park Street sari store. Western wear has not been left untouched by this phenomenon. Crystals — faux or otherwise — on tops, embellishment on cocktail gowns and some shine and shimmer even on the classic Little Black Dress, is de rigeuer at a party now. “Till sometime ago, I would steer clear of anything that had even the slightest shimmer on it. But now I really don’t mind a little bling on my clothes or accessories. I recently bought a pair of boots encrusted with shiny stones,” smiles content writer Anamika Choudhury.

“Bling on your tooth — from gold to platinum and even diamonds — is now not limited to rap artistes alone,” says fashion design student Sarika Sinha. Brace yourself further — bling has made its way to the bonnet of cars and even to a dog’s leash! “Most of us get attracted to phones with a metallic finish for the simple fact that it shines and stands out,” says Kallol. “Even a plain terracotta pot given a metallic coat of paint is bling,” says Mumbai-based interior designer Rachna Sharma.

So is bling an inner need? Can anything be so pervasive if it’s not? Maybe it is.

“Bling is a sign of contemporary society and the conspicuous consumption it embraces. People are constantly striving to attain a certain standing in society and going the bling way is something that speaks of wealth and high status,” says sociologist Prerna Anand Puri. Agrees sociologist Prasanta Ray: “Bling is a way of standing out in a crowd and therefore the very thin line between endorsing bling and falling prey to ostentatiousness has become non-existent today.”

Bling could cater to a different inner necessity. It brings comfort to some. “When I am not feeling happy from the inside, bling on the outside is an instant perk-up,” says media professional Shriya Agarwal. Agrees Kallol Dutta: “In these times of the economic slowdown, it doesn’t hurt to add a little colour and shine to our lives.”

But why blame India alone? A recently introduced iPhone case, encrusted with 42 diamonds, set in 18-karat gold and priced at more than the iPhone itself, is apparently selling like hotcakes! Swarovski’s present to Scrabble lovers to commemorate 60 years of the game in 2008? A Swarovski-studded Scrabble set. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been dubbed “Bling bling President”, because of his love for Rolex watches and Ray-Ban sunglasses (Carla Bruni was not mentioned). And what is Paris Hilton if not bling?

But the bling capital of the world? The Indian television industry. From its dance shows to family soaps, it is a case study of bling. Watch television and you know, recession or no recession, India is shining. Sometimes dangerously.

But the man who really started it all? Bappi bling bling Lahiri.