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Rip-off
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The controversy involving Suneet Varma and Aki Narula is more than just washing dirty linen in public
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Photo: PTI
RAMP RAGE: A model in a Suneet Varma outfit at the LIFW
Ask Rathi Vinay Jha if FDCI is in any way answerable to the nation and the lady promptly says, "No. We are a promotional body taking care of the interests of the sponsors and the designers." Then why the country's media flocked the venue 24x7 to cover every possible detail of a private event? Just for some non-existing scoops or some freebies! The recent rip-off controversy when designer Suneet Varma charged fellow designer Aki Narula with copying his design for Rani Mukerjee's outfit in Bunty Aur Bubly and Aki's denial that he had bought the outfit from a store in Mumbai is one such example of media being used for publicity.
The film's publicity material is in the market for quite some time but the onslaught was planned during the Week - the issue has nothing to do with LIFW - where the entire media was a captive audience. People failed to appreciate that Aki is a costume designer in the film whose role is different from a fashion designer. "When Manish Malhotra used DKNY outfit in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, DKNY didn't come to sue him. In a film almost every other scene demands a different outfit and the costume designer has to source them from different places. If Suneet had any problem he could have easily asked Aki or FDCI. Going to media was just a publicity gimmick," says a leading designer on the FDCI board.
Another leading female designer admits rip-off is common in the industry, "When intermediaries from smallish foreign stores come to buy a few pieces we know they are going to be ripped off. But I feel satisfied that I have got my money. You can't stop this. They can take photographs of your show and then copy it." All this is common knowledge but a section of media bored by the unexpected seriousness at the Week cooked up the story. Is the public really interested?
ANUJ KUMAR
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