Like a sarong: Ditch the hibiscus- print sarong and go cool checks on the beach. Wrap the lungi around your upper back, pull the ends forward, wrap both sides over the front so that they overlap; twist, twist, pull up behind your neck and then tie in a knot. Hello halter dress! Beach waves + fancy flats + sunscreen = beach goddess

Drape it like DP:

If you have a Bolly-themed party coming up, go the Lungi dance way. Looks daunting? It couldn’t be easier (we are not talking about the washboard abs, just the look!). This one doesn’t need you to rush out and splurge on props or outfits — all you need is an inexpensive lungi! Throw on a solid colour shirt, knot it up to flaunt your belly, the higher the knot, the sexier the look. Drape the lungi around your waist like a skirt, secure the drape with pins, lift and fold the bottom end of the lungi upward and secure it with a knot around your waist. Finish with a small bindi, lots of churis, golden jhumkas, Kolhapuris and of course the Aviators! Channel Sonika’s if-looks-could-kill-attitude and you have stolen the show.

Like a sari:

Yes, a sari! Slip on a pair of tights, put on a sexy blouse (we chose a fitted black tee, what’s sexier?!) and work the lungi into a magical sari drape. Tuck the lungi into your tights on the left-hand side, wrap around your lower back and secure it over your torso like a pallu. Don’t forget to twist the pallu for a more dramatic look! Complete your style with a statement choker, a one-shoulder messy braid, bold kohl liner, a fruity lip colour and some killer high heels and you are party-ready!

PS: Have fun with the lungi print, though we think checks is not a bad idea.

Location: Solace, Pictures: B. Halder,
Make-up and hair: Don Hsiao, Draping: Manju Singh, Styling: Jyotica Ramchandani

THE LUNGI HAS BECOME A COOL THEME FOR PARTIES THANKS TO LUNGI DANCE. t2 TAKES A LOOK AT THE NEW-FOUND LOVE FOR LUNGI

Remember the time when you used to judge men who wore lungis? Well, that was gone the moment Shah Rukh Khan rocked the lungi in the Kashmir tu song in Chennai Express. Then Deepika Padukone and SRK grooved to Lungi dance and it instantly became the pick for theme parties. And thanks to DP looking stunning in a lungi on the film’s posters even the women are now saying yay to the lungi.

With Calcutta swinging into party mode, the lungi has become the chosen dress code for many parties. It is not only a nod to the coolest party song this quarter of the year but also the most hassle-free theme party to organise.

“All you have to do is go and buy a lungi and you are set for the party. You don’t have to think as hard as you have to for other theme parties,” said 32-year-old Amrita Kundu Nair, who attended a lungi party this month.

She wore a maroon and blue printed lungi like a wrap-around skirt, teamed with a grey T-shirt.

It is not just boring white check lungis that people are buying. There are batik print lungis, tie and dye printed lungis, floral motif lungis and even colourful checks.

“It is a fantastic theme for a party. It can be filmi, naughty or just harmless fun. Depends on how you choose to interpret it. And, it is a hassle-free party to organise,” said techie Pushkar Bendre, who organised a lungi themed bachelor’s party for his friend.

If you don’t want to take our word for it then listen to the lungi sellers who swear lungi sales have gone up since Chennai Express hit the big screen.

“I had someone buy 14 lungis and one person buy 22 lungis this month alone,” said Md Zahid, of N.A. Lungi Sellers in Jaan Bazaar.

“The south Indian white ones have the maximum takers now after Chennai Express,” said K. Alam of Madras Lungi Stores.

Have you been to a lungi party recently? Tell us at t2@abp.in t2@abp.in

How to do the Lungi Party

When you are throwing a Lungi Party, you need too, er, check all the boxes — food, drink, playlist, decoration and games — to match the theme. Here is a quick guide to the basic things needed for a rocking Lungi Party.

The invite:

The invitations, of course via email or on Facebook, must be based on the lungi theme. A cartoon figure wearing a lungi being the central figure is cool, or you could just put a lungi-clad DP and SRK on it.

Greet your guests with a garland of marigold for an added touch.

The decoration:

Think flowers, daab, banana leaves to decorate your house.

Use banana leaves in place of chart paper and stick pictures and write messages on them.

Place green coconuts in the visible corners of your drawing room, or party venue, for the south Indian touch.

Hang marigold strings around the room.

Theme posters will add to the cool quotient of the party, especially if you can get caricatures made of some of the invitees in lungis.

The playlist:

Lungi dance is, of course, a must as is One two three four and Kashmir tu.

Then there are songs like Nakka mukka and Aa ante amalapuram.

You can tap into Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil films for more songs to dance to in your lungis.

But make sure you mix them up with other popular non-south Indian dance numbers to keep the party rocking.

LUNGI MEMES ARE A RAGE

F & B:

Keep the finger food simple, but you can add mini vadas and idlis to go with the theme.

Chicken Chettinad, Mutton Stew and Potato Stew make for the perfect dinner menu. Stick to pulao or lemon rice to go with the main dishes.

You can keep it simple with coconut water mixed with vodka or gin and make it the party drink. Or, you can try out various exotic recipes like the Coconut Colada, pina colada and many more.

The fun:

If you are throwing a bachelor party or a birthday party for someone make sure that he/she gets a white lungi. Keep markers handy so that you can scrawl messages on the lungi.

You must do the drinking game where you have to drink every time Lungi dance is played and every time there is a lungi malfunction.

Stat warning:

Make sure you are wearing shorts underneath the lungi. You do not want to be embarrassed by a wardrobe malfunction.

If you are doing the drinking game, then there will be as many lungi malfunctions as there will be repeats of Lungi dance; make sure you have a ride back home!

THE LUNGI HAS STARRED IN MANY A HIT FILM. t2 PICKS ITS FAVES

 

DON Amitabh Bachchan came up with some uninhibited moves in a checked lungi to the Kishore Kumar hit Yeh hai Bambai nagariya from Don. He donned the lungi once more to do a Mehmood impersonation and woo Hema Malini in the Desh Premee number Taane din tandana .

AGNEEPATH Fishnet vest and colourful lungi held up by a belt — Mithun Chakraborty’s Krishnan Iyer M.A. was a riot in the 1990 film starring Amitabh Bachchan as Vijay Dinanath Chauhan. Who can forget Krishnan taking on a gang of goons with: “Main lungi uthaake teri kya karoongi maloom?” and then beating them to pulp.

BHOOL BHULAIYAA Akshay Kumar gave the lungi a cool twist in the Hare Krishna Hare Ram number from the Priyadarshan film starring Vidya Balan and Shiney Ahuja.

ANAMIKA Jaya Bhaduri, striking in an orange kurta-lungi ensemble, sang the sweet-yet-sensuous Baahon mein chale aao to woo an exasperated Sanjeev Kumar in this 1973 film.

GANGS OF WASSEYPUR In a blue-and-green checked lungi, Nawazuddin Siddiqui looked every inch the man of the Bihari heartland in his breakthrough role of hardened criminal Faizal in the Gangs of Wasseypur films.

RAJA BABU The song was slammed for its decidely vulgar meaning and moves, but Karisma Kapoor in that red silk lungi gyrating to Sarkailo khatiya — with Govinda for company — was nice and naughty.