Anuradha Vakil <br><br><br><p class=clear>&nbsp;</p>She is one of India’s most unlikely fashion designers. Armed with a Masters’ in Business Administration (MBA) from Michigan, U.S., and experience in a corporate house, she moved on to combine all that she is and all that she had imbibed, driven by her passion for Indian textile crafts. For the past 12 years, her entire body of work, epitomized in the eponymous label produced by her design company, Noor, which has striven to ensure its survival by making it relevant to contemporary fashion. “Initially there was hesitation,†she admits, when Sanjay Leela Bhansali called her for a meeting. “Largely because, I did not see my work fitting into the genre of commercial films. My work in fashion is deeply rooted in crafts and you do not see that often in mainstream cinema. But, I was acutely aware that Sanjay is a visionary. Having admired his work always, my instinct told me to trust this artist par-excellence. I went for the first meeting… and was bowled over completely!†<br><br><br><p class=clear>&nbsp;</p>Anuradha has designed for the two female actors Sonam and Rani Mukherjee. “The color palette was derived from the look of the movie and the silhouettes came from Sanjay’s and my common love for kathak and appreciation of Islamic arts and culture. I have used a lot of antique fabrics and weaves like appliqué, ikat and kalabootan embroidery. A lot of thought and effort went into creating Gulab’s (Rani) look. She’s a woman who loves attention, likes to be noticed… and her clothes had to reflect just that.â€<br><p class=clear>&nbsp;</p>