Back in 1994, Sushmita Sen was crowned Miss Universe. After which, the actress did an iconic photoshoot in front of the Taj Mahal. The actress wore a pretty deep pink saree for the same. But did you know that the actress was initially sent shorts and skimpy clothes for the shoot? Designer Ritu Kumar revealed how she saved the day with a saree she found at the at the last minute.
Ritu recently took to her Instagram handle and shared a video from the archives that features Sushmita Sen’s shoot. She opened up about the shoot and also added that Sushmita fainted during the shoot.
She shared, “In 1993, I struck a deal with the @missindiaorg team to design clothes for the contestants. In 1994, @sushmitasen47 won the Miss India title and went on to win the Miss Universe title in the US. This was a historic moment, and one that I was delighted to be part of. As part of my deal with Miss India to create clothes for the contestants, I was tasked with creating her wardrobe as she toured the US, and I started sending her suits made out of bandhani and zardozi, kurta-paijamas, and saris that were all received really well.”
She added, “When she landed in Delhi after the tour, I got a frantic call to come to the Taj Palace. On reaching them, I learned that the team had scheduled a shoot outside the Taj Mahal the next day, but the clothes they got sent were shorts and t-shirts—too skimpy to be worn outside a mausoleum! So, at night, we opened up the store, located a pink sari, and quickly altered a blouse. We also got hold of some other key pieces, and within hours we were ready for the shoot. The shoot turned out to be hectic, and poor Sushmita even fainted at one point, but the images were worth our toil.”
On a closing note, she added, “To date, I think of her in that pink sari wearing a crown and the UP Police personnel around us clapping with pride! These images were splashed all over the country’s leading publications with credits to us and, more importantly, to the weavers.”
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