Badri Ki Dulhania singer Monali Thakur has teamed up with elder sister Mehuli for a passion project — Bandhobi. Spread over 1,300sq ft, the fashion boutique owned by the sisters has saris, kurtas, kaftans, kotis, skirts, dresses and blouses. There will be kurtas and dhotis for men too. Mehuli, who as a kid would cut up her mom’s saris, has been designing for more than a decade now. She started from home and over the years has exhibited a lot and has her own manufacturing unit too. Bengal textiles, “simple and practical”, interplay of colours and motifs, and block prints sum up Bandhobi. Silks, Jamdani with resham, khadi, bagru print paired with tangail, Kanjeevaram, tussore, linen, zari work... the saris display quite a variety. The silk kaftans come in vibrant shades. A cafe on the floor above is in the pipeline.

This picture happened only after a lot of prodding and posing tips from Monali. The sisters swear by each other. “This is something that we are making out of love and that means a lot to me. Didi is an insanely talented woman. I cannot wait for it to start. I cannot wait to open more stores and improvise further and take it to where it can go. I think the next one will be in Bombay,” says Monali, younger to Mehuli by 14 years, who pushed Mehuli to make a brand out of it. “My only role is to say: ‘Didi, khub case kheyechhi. Aamar ekta sari dorkar!’ I have got saved by her on occasions when I had nothing to wear!” laughs Monali. “I will be waiting for her inputs,” says Mehuli. Though the sisters have different styles, Mehuli introduced Monali to colours. “Colour combinations are tricky, and I never realised how Didi evolved so much when it came to combining colours,” says Monali. For the t2 visit, the sisters draped Kanjeevarams.