{"id":2166,"date":"2016-04-30T09:41:38","date_gmt":"2016-04-30T04:11:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/rekha-and-the-evolution-of-the-holi-look\/"},"modified":"2016-04-30T09:41:38","modified_gmt":"2016-04-30T04:11:38","slug":"rekha-and-the-evolution-of-the-holi-look","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/?p=2166","title":{"rendered":"Aviators, White Designer Kurtas, and the Evolution of the Bollywood Holi Party"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

S<\/span>itting at a caf\u00e9 yesterday, I overheard a couple of girls talking about the upcoming <\/p>Holi<\/span><\/a> celebrations. There was much discussion on who is going where and with whom, but there was also talk of a strange thing called the \u201cHoli Look\u201d. <\/span>\n\nOnce upon a time getting ready for a Holi party meant oiling yourself up from head to toe like a <\/span>pehelwan<\/span><\/a> before wearing whatever clothes were next in line to become pochas. And it felt like a battle too; with an arsenal full of lead-tainted powder colours and water balloons that could give you dysentery. The object of Holi was to hit people in the eyes with colour, to win a water-gun war against the other kids in the compound, or to be dyed pink for a solid week and earn some serious street cred. Back in those days, if someone asked you what your Holi look was going to be this year, you would have told them to stop snorting gulaal and go easy on the bhaang. But today, a Holi party, like brunch, is apparently an occasion you dress up for. <\/span>\n\nAs hopelessly millennial as the idea of \u201cdressing up\u201d for Holi sounds, it actually dates back to the \u201980s and Bollywood. Rekha in \u201cRang Barse\u201d gave every woman in the country #HoliGoalz. Thanks to her, the idea of a Holi look first came into being \u2013 a spotless white, sanskari salwar kameez, a functional but elegant braid, and immaculate make-up complete with bindi. \u201cThe Rekha\u201d was designed not only to show off the colours of Holi, but to bring a sense of refinement to a holiday that has traditionally been focused on getting really filthy and really high. Trust <\/span>Bollywood<\/span><\/a> to hype up a perfectly good thing.<\/span>\n\nThe Bollywoodification of Holi means that it is no longer enough to throw around bright colours and drink yourself silly. In true Indian fashion, we\u2019<\/span>ve got to make it bigger and wilder.\n\nToday, the Holi party has morphed into a different beast. The classy aunty might still favour Rekha\u2019s iconic style, updated with a pair of mirrored aviators perched on top of her freshly blow-dried hair. But for younger revellers, the classic Indian style has been bastardised by a barrage of frayed cutoffs, psychedelic crop tops, and whimsically braided maulis. A simple Google search on Holi fashion will give you endless recommendations on ethnic fabrics and prints, just in case your goal is to look like an escaped bridal wear model who fell into a tanning vat. They advise you to cover your hair with a Yankees fitted cap, champi be damned. The reference images are all pictures of white girls doing \u201ccolour runs\u201d in yoga pants.<\/span>\n

Is it too much to ask that for one day we do something that is not a social media commodity?<\/blockquote>\nAs with most of the modern world\u2019s ills, it\u2019s easy to blame Bollywood for this dramatic shift in our Holi #aesthetic. But let\u2019s be honest \u2013 it\u2019s all because of social media. After all, if your Holi party pictures don\u2019t look like stills from \u201cBalam Pichkari\u201d, what\u2019s the point? Gone are the days when Holi, or any occasion, was only about having fun with your friends. No longer do we spray colour with abandon, getting our hair wet, and letting our kajal streak our already soiled faces. <\/span>\n\nNow, we want the money shots for an <\/span>Instagram<\/span><\/a> fest \u2013 a carefully applied swipe of red across your cheek to match your lipstick; a pointless but artsy black-and-white picture of you throwing powder aimlessly into the air; a \u201ccandid\u201d in a tie-dye bandana that took 15 minutes and your friend\u2019s phone torch to set up; the rainbow of individual colours before it all disintegrates into a sad purplish-grey-orange muck that won\u2019t even merit a dozen likes. <\/span>\n\nIs it too much to ask that for one day we do something that is not a social media commodity? The best part of Holi is giving no fucks about how you look. In fact, the worse you look, the more fun you\u2019re likely to have; you\u2019re bound to be willing to destroy that Holi with a good, solid dunking. Don\u2019t give in to the pressure, kids, pull out that pocha.<\/span>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As with most of the modern world\u2019s ills, it\u2019s easy to blame Bollywood for a dramatic shift in our Holi aesthetic. But let\u2019s be honest \u2013 the Holi look is all because of Instagram. And Rekha.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":208,"featured_media":2167,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4382],"tags":[4383,4384,4385,4386,232,3660,151,357,4387,4388],"class_list":["post-2166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fashion","tag-bhang","tag-colour-run","tag-colours","tag-fashion","tag-holi","tag-party","tag-rekha","tag-social-media","tag-voot","tag-white-kurta"],"yoast_head":"\nAviators, White Designer Kurtas, and the Evolution of the Bollywood Holi Party<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As with most of the modern world\u2019s ills, it\u2019s easy to blame Bollywood for a dramatic shift in our Holi aesthetic. But let\u2019s be honest \u2013 the Holi look is all because of Instagram. 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