Fashion Police

Subcontinental stars and the scary bandana syndrome
While film and music stars in the subcontinent are all very handsome, 
sometimes their fashion choices leave one aghast

  Amina Baig
Karachi

There are some things you hope to never see within a 14 mile radius of a desi man. Jewellery of any kind, as desi men more often than not tend to buy accessories in an unconscious homage to everyone's favourite fashion icon - Kanye West. Very few men can carry off the wife beater without some clown making a Govinda crack and most men should just never attempt dancing in public. Most of all, even if you have the slickest moves and the most fashion-friendly persona, please, for the love of god, do not wear bandanas.

We are Pakistani / Indian (desi, remember?), not the Village People. The '90s are done, Axl Rose screwed up, and really, being a subcontinental man, you should think azillion times before you pick an outfit or accessory you believe to be super trendy. Which is why we wonder why men in our neck of the woods, especially those who will be in the spotlight more often than not; actors, singers, the like, sometimes wear something so strangely unbecoming it hurts (the eyes, the heart, what have you).

So when Saif Ali Khan's strange love for bandanas left us laughing for about 50 years, it seemed apt that Atif Aslam, the brightest star of Pakistani pop, adopting the bandana should make us shed bloody tears. Why so dramatic about the bandana, you ask? Pakistani men and women wear western attire, sometimes almost exclusively, so why is one little piece of cloth causing all these ripples? Particularly when Atif might just be covering up post-Hajj baldness? Well, Hajj has been over for a while, and Atif is still wearing the bandana.

Granted, Atif Aslam has one of the quirkiest fashion senses ever and gets away with what he wears loads of times. Cue the red cropped pants from the 'Meri Kahani' video. He dressed as some kind of disco cop for the 2008 Lux Style Awards and has worn a white suit and too much paint on the face in another performance which really just left him looking like Ritesh Desmukh.

However, that could just be passed off as part of a star's capriciousness. After all, Shah Rukh Khan has been known to wear gold and silver outfits during his performances, and nobody says boo to him. But here's a thought, not that one is particularly fond of SRK, but he does do the whole casual-smart thing very nicely in real life. As does Aamir Khan. Why not emulate them, Atif, instead of a middle-aged actor who is just now living out all the whimsies he couldn't in his 20s? That being Saif Ali Khan, of course, who thinks picking up a guitar and playing it makes him the nawab equivalent of Steve Vai. And to suit that image, Saif wears these bandanas no matter where he goes, trying to make sure he is recognized for the badass that he is.

Salman Khan had started wearing his bandana around the time he got a hair-weave - and Shahid Kapur has worn the wannabe rockstar/ sad cowboy look too, probably because he spent a couple of years singing 'Every Rose Has Its Thorn' under Kareena and Saif's window. Arjun Rampal too has worn a bandana, but funnily enough, while his face can carry it off, it still seems too posey somehow.  

Back to problems on the home-front. Atif, who in his own words is going to be rocking the silver screen, definitely needs an image consultant who is not his kith and kin. Maybe Ammar Belal? He did an ace job with all the people in the 'Chal Bulleya' video, making each fit right into the mould of their character.

Atif might be inclined to argue that he doesn't care about the look as long as he is swimming the length and breadth of the pool of his talent, as he already has explained the reason behind his decision to act: "to explore ma talent and the ability to act is the primary reason."

Atif will be appearing in Shoaib Mansoor's Bol, "as a middle-class, low profile doctor." And yes he says that "he doesn't want to become a chocolate hero," but it would still be nice to see him wearing something that becomes secondary to his voice and presence rather than the other way around.

So, to Atif Aslam, Pakistan's beloved popstar, a request: ditch the bandana, it will never be an acceptable look for desi men, and while experimenting with the way you look is a good thing, knowing what works and what doesn't is a good thing too.