rediff.com, Movies: 'AB is sophisticated; Ravs is a glamour doll'

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She turns 31 this Christmas. And has over 570 films to her credit.
No mean feat for any Bollywood personality.

For over a decade, Anna Singh has been redefining Indian cinema’s fashion trends. Her accomplishments in the field have earned her the sobriquet -- The High Priestess of Style.

Her flamboyance and her formidable talent have branded her one of the most talented designers of today. From Madhuri Dixit and Jackie Shroff to Salman Khan and Shilpa Shetty, Anna’s designs have been on them all.

A gold medallist in commercial art and fashion design from the The JJ School of Arts, Mumbai, Anna has also tried her hand at jewellery design. For a brief period she ran her own fashion boutique too: Anna Singh The Design Studio.

The designer was recently presented with the Rajiv Gandhi Award for Excellence in her field for her outstanding work in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Mission Kashmir. Besides placing Anna among the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and KPS Gill -- former recipients of the award -- the honour also qualifies Anna as a 'scholar' in her field.

Anna prides herself on her independence. "I have paid for myself since I was 16," she says emphatically. "Though I'm going to be 31, I feel like I’m 27 personally and 50 professionally."

"Costume design as opposed to creating a personal wardrobe needs the understanding of a character and designing keeping in mind the screen age, background, origin and financial status. As opposed to that, a personal wardrobe is created keeping in mind the clients body, skin colour and personality," she says.

Here she lists her most stylish film personalities


		Amitabh Bachchan The Big B is sophisticate numero uno. Need I say any more? I've been privileged to work with him in films like Sooryavansham and Aks. I've also designed clothes for his stage shows and for his personal wardrobe.

		Madhuri Dixit Madhuri is the nicest person I have worked with. We collaborated for films like Beta, Rajkumar, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun and Raja.

		Sanjay Dutt Sanjay is again in comfort zone with his clothes. He has a very non-affected outlook. We have worked together in Sajjan, Khalnayak, Kartoos, Khauff, Mission Kashmir, Vaastav and Khubsoorat.

		Raveena Tandon Raveena Tandon is the perfect glamour doll. She looked stunning in Aks.

		Akshay Kumar Akshay and I have just started working together. But I must say that he is very in tune with his carriage. He's quite fashionable.

		Aishwarya Rai Ash again is conventionally beautiful and she looks ethereal in Indian clothes. Rich colours suit her better than pastels. I worked on her wardrobe for Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya, Albela and for stage shows.

		Jackie Shroff Jackie Shroff is very stylish. I have worked with him in over 90 films including some of his career’s greatest hits -- Aaina, Tridev, Khalnayak, Gardish, 1942 -- A Love Story. More recently I worked with him for Mission Kashmir and Bas Itna Sa Khwaab Hai. Jackie has this inherent understanding for projection and slipping into any garment and making it his own.

		Manisha Koirala Manisha is beautiful and has a heart of gold. A total humanist. I've worked with her in over 25 films but the most memorable one was Bombay.

		Bobby Deol Bobby has a lazy, nonchalant approach to his clothes. He has a stylised carriage and is very comfortable when wearing trendy funky stuff. I've had the opportunity to work with him in Barsaat, Gupt, Kareeb, Soldier and in Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya.

		Pooja Bhatt Pooja is another great person for projection. She's always willing to experiment and is ready to risk being ahead of her times when it comes to making a fashion statement. I've done over 30 films with Pooja from Dil Hai Ki Maanta Nahin to Zakhm.

	Text: Vivek Fernandes Design: Uday Kuckian
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