He had around 350 ladies waiting for a tete-e-tete, but Manish Malhotra took around 40 minutes out for t2 for a freewheeling adda post-show. Over to MM...

Manish Malhotra is elusive. Right or wrong? 

No! It’s just that when you go back to Bombay, you are harrowed with work. And then I cannot think of anything. I am like, I’ll talk later. And then the later never happens. 

Twenty-five years in the industry.... Do you feel you are too young for the 25-year-old tag? 

I see it as, for 25 years I have done this and now it is time to do something new. That’s why I am excited about the expansion of my label. It’s about my label and my craft, rather than costumes.
The last three years have been a big jump for us, our label. The Delhi store has worked for us. It’s a 9,000sq ft store. I was the first designer to open such a big store there. Now is the time when I really want to redo the whole store. At that time, I was opening it in a hurry. I think now that I have completed 25 years in movies, I have moved into a new and nice house, I have completed 10 years of my label, I definitely want to do a lot more production and bring a lot more variety in my clothes, open a couple of more stores. For the last six months that has been on my mind and heart, 24 hours. I want to make my stores into an experience. When I say expansion, I mean expansion of the mind. 
I have also started this new company, which is exciting. I am going to produce things which I find have integrity. Whether it’s a play or a documentary or a digital series, something that I like and I believe in and feel this should be told. The purpose is integrity, dignity, aesthetic and then money. So, yeah, I feel like a newcomer again. 

How involved will you be in the new venture?

I try to be as involved as possible. My niece is also going to work with me. I am quite excited about starting a company from zero. From hiring people to economics… it’s my test now of how much I have learnt. I don’t fear. 

How much have you learnt?

You can never learn everything. When I started my label, I was running between my films and my label. Aaj woh nahin chal sakta. What worked for me even five years ago will not work for me today. The audience has changed. What movies worked last year are not working today. And it’s a struggle. To reinvent constantly is a very big struggle. To stay relevant is a very big struggle. You have to be at it. Raj (Mahtani) was shocked that tonight is our dinner and I have a flight at 6.30am. I said I’d land at 8.30am, go home, meet my parents, shower and go straight to work. I have to cope with it.  
I don’t want to do too many movies, just one or two films. So, this year there will be Karan’s (Johar) film (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil). Then there will be Sridevi’s film and then there is a new film called Badrinath Ki Dulhania for Alia (Bhatt). And that’s it.

What is expansion of the mind for you?

Thinking, observing. My entire education has been of observing. Since I am observant, I am aware. I am a good learner. I am very sensitive to things. I think I am grounded. I don’t take myself too seriously. I think directors, film actors, designers who think they are genius, it’s a very boring thing. What makes you think you are more intelligent than the other person? What? Like suddenly, I am talking in another tone to you? 

What has kept you grounded?

My parents. I live with my parents and they still ask me if my clothes have sold. (Laughs) My mother is my biggest encouragement. Also, I think I have come up the hard way. So, I value it. I understand it. The only thing I don’t have patience for is inefficiency. I like a quote by Tom Ford. He said I don’t look at myself as an artist. I look at myself as a designer who is lucky to do what he loves to do, and when people wear his outfits he feels good. I know people love this ‘I-am-this-genius-I-am-so-creative’…. I am not that person. I am not a person who disrespects others. I am not drunk at my fashion show. I don’t go late for anything. I have always been like that. I am not pseudo-intellectual. 

Do you feel like a misfit then?

I do feel targeted, especially in my own industry, but I am okay with that. I don’t get sleepless nights.

What are your coping mechanisms?

Eating! I love food. It is a stress-buster for me. I wake up in the morning and I like mornings a lot and I move on. What has also helped a lot is being busy. I have had a strong family background. I don’t get intimidated. I know of designers who want me to drink with them, party with them, but I never did that. There are designers who look through me. Sometimes criticism comes for your benefit. And sometimes it’s negative. You have to be intelligent enough to cut the negativity out. Tomorrow, you could have a good friend telling you the truth but you don’t want to hear it. 

What lessons have you taken from all these years?

I used to take a lot of people at face value earlier. I learnt not to. And nothing surprises me. And one more thing I learnt with time is itna bhi seriously kisi ko mat lo. You go on doing what you want to. 

What do you swear by?

I think my family. My work. Some very genuine people… who might not be around me but have supported me, and a few friends. But after sometime when you are up there, it is very difficult to judge. And everybody is there for you. The ones who are criticising you are also the ones who want to be with you. I can see fake and I am not interested in it at all.

Was doing handloom stepping out of your comfort zone? 

It was on my mind for two years. I love taking risks. Luckily for me, times are also changing. I want to go back to Benaras to do my own prints with them. I want to put up a warehouse where there are students. I can work with them on art, crafts and textiles. 

What else would you like to try?

An institute of Indian fashion. I want to make a fashion house where there is a lot of art, culture, textile, handloom, artists working and developing…. I want to extend menswear. I want to tap into a lot of things I didn’t do before, like Benaras and handloom. I started that this year and there has been a huge reaction to Regal Threads. The collection is the highest worn collection by any celebrity. It has been a nice diversity. I want to do a lot more in terms of Indian fashion. I want to take it to the middle class, upper middle class. I want luxury to come into high street. I don’t want to do pret. I am not ready for it. I don’t think luxury is the rich’s domain. 

What is luxury for you?

Luxury for me is to be able to do what you want to do. If I want to sit and talk to you, that’s luxury, because I can do it. 

So, simple things?

I think so. Simple things only give you the maximum happiness. We don’t realise that. Good music gives me happiness. Eating a good meal gives me happiness. Even after every fashion show, a few close friends and I eat a meal.

So, you are cutting down on one kind of multitasking and getting into another kind...

Yes! I am a multitasker… it’s just that it’s in a different direction today. For example, the Gerua (Dilwale) song got so much praise but I don’t think anyone has come and told me that they are going to buy an extra ghagra because I did Gerua. They know I design for film stars. Now they will buy my ghagra if they like the ghagra. 

Is that one of the reasons why you have decided to cut down on Bollywood?

It is also one of the factors. I think I am done with films. I have done it too much. I have moved on. Not from movies. I love movies, but about costuming it like that. 

But isn’t that your first love?

That’s why I’ll never leave it. I am going to keep going back. In Badrinath Ki Dulhania, my first instinct was I’ll make the clothes. She (Alia Bhatt) is a UP girl. I want to get churidar back into fashion. I just don’t want to go and pick up ready-made clothes. 

You said you are workaholic. What’s a breather for you?

My new house has been a breather for me. It’s got a lot of space. It’s a five-floor house. I am very proud of it. It’s a lot of work. It’s taken me 25 years to reach there. There is a lot of nature around it. That is what led me to do Elements (his spring-summer 2016 line). Then watching a movie, listening to music, but I can’t even chill for too long. I am not a person ke so gaya toh so gaya. This new company should be nice, a (stress) buster for me from the world of design. 

Who is the Manish muse now?

This global girl who is very confident, proud of being who she is. She is fond of glamour and opulence and unapologetically so

What are Manish’s food faves? Raj’s house food! (Raj cuts in: “His house food is delicious! You’ll always get fabulous aloo, chicken, mutton, fish and rice. His desserts will always be laid out beautifully with petals”.) I love authentic food… like pure Chinese. Desserts are my weakness. (“He had four mishti dois yesterday!” laughs Raj) I like Indian food the most and also Chinese, Thai and Italian.