Bollywood flavour to Eid shopping in Bangladesh

Dhaka, Oct 27 (IANS) "Bunty Aur Babli" is the rage these days among young women in this Bangladesh capital completing their shopping for Eid, the biggest Muslim festival that falls in the first week of November.

No, the young women are not shopping for the film but the dresses inspired by outfits worn by the leading lady Rani Mukherjee.

Each year before Eid, a special dress takes the market by storm - in the past there have been divider rage, the netted dress craze, the short kameez mania and 2005 appears to be the year of "Bunty Aur Bubli".

"It's become an obsession with young shoppers. If you don't know what it means, see the Hindi movie with the eponymous title starring Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee," Abdur Rahman, a shop owner here, told IANS.

Apart from "Bunty Aur Babli", "Veer-Zaara" and Jassi-inspired garments have also become a craze for Eid shoppers in the capital city, said Rahman, whose shop is located in the upmarket Bashundhara shopping mall here.

"The young girls and women are looking for kameezes with differently styled necks, embroidered churidars and salwars and sleeveless long kameez with churidar or salwar," he said adding that all these dresses were coming from India except some, which were copied locally.

The garments are available in a variety of materials ranging from cotton, georgette, chiffon and silk, with embroidery work and embellishments. The prices vary between taka1,500 and taka15,000.

Almost all sellers in the city's markets have put such garments on sale this year. Sari shops too have put on display the latest Indian fashions.

"It's because of the satellite channels... people are watching Indian actresses wearing those dresses on the screen and they feel like copying them," said Rashid Ahmed, a shop owner at another city market.

Mahmud Hossain, a clothes salesman at the Rifles Square here, also said Rani Mukherjee was the focus of the Eid fashion this year and young women wanted the dress she wore in "Bunty Aur Babli".

Shaila Hossain, a university student, said: "I always want something new to wear on Eid and as 'Bunty Aur Babli' is the new dress for the year, I've bought it."

Dresses worn by Preity Zinta in "Veer Zaara" and by Indian TV soap stars especially Mona Singh of "Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin" fame are also much in demand among the trendy and fashion conscious young women here.

Sinthia Rahman, a middle-aged woman said: "Preity Zinta wore a dress in Veer-Zaara which had a fantastic design; that's why I've bought it for my daughter".

Another shop owner, Mushfikur Rahman, said outfits worn by TV stars like Nandini in the serial "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" and Kashish from "Kahiin To Hoga" were also selling like hot cakes.

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Bunty Aur Babli