By Hindustan Times

Mumbai, May 20 -- In 1990, Manish Malhotra stepped into Bollywood's wonderland. His choice of career seemed almost pre-destined, given his love for commercial Hindi cinema. "I've been passionately in love with movies since I was a kid and unapologetic about it. I've watched every movie in the theatre and dreamed of being accepted into the mainstream some day," he reminisces.

Twenty years later, Manish Malhotra can proudly claim to be the first Bollywood costume designer to win an award, for Rangeela. He was responsible for Urmila Matondkar's headline-grabbing metamorphosis in the Ram Gopal Varma film that made baby doll dresses a best-seller.

Malhotra has flagged off other style fads as well, including Kajol's mehendi green lehenga in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Madhuri Dixit's Indo-Western fusion wear in Dil Toh Paagal Hai. He's made a sari statement, draping six yards of chiffon around Karisma Kapoor in Raja Hindustani, Shilpa Shetty in Dhadkan, Kajol in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and more recently, Priyanka Chopra in Dostana. Of course, PC's 'desi girl' look changed almost overnight as he turned her into a campus cutie for Pyaar Impossible.

"The makeovers just happened as I worked to reconcile with the demands of the script. Trends were set without any conscious planning. Who would have thought that Kareena's (Kapoor) salwar-tee look in Jab We Met would click in such a big way?" he reflects. "I've never tried to intelluctualise my work, just connect with the audience." A global brand now, Malhotra still continues to be one of the busiest designers in B-town, juggling with nine big ticket movies. He deconstructs the looks in them.