Daring & loving it!

A recently-uploaded Twitter photo of Sonakshi Sinha shaking a leg,wearing a red ghagra-choli,in her forthcoming film Joker brings to the fore Bollywoods favourite attire,the choli

Among the current league of actors,Vidya Balan seems to be a staunch advocate of the good old choli. The actress,who recently bared her back draped in a sheer Sabyasachi Mukherjee sari,has been spotted at several events dressed in the traditional sari and a low-cut,strappy choli. But Vidyas not the only one.

Be it Priyanka Chopras breezy fashion statement in the Desi girl number in Dostana,Katrina Kaifs seductive look in Sheila ki jawaani or Rani Mukerjis mature yet chic look in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna,it was all accentuated by the choli. Small wonder,the sari-choli is still around in spite of various attempts to bring in western outfits.

In a classic case of the West looking to the East for influence,British designer Paul Smith designed a desi collection on India,and converted the sari into a sarong for his clients. Pop icon Madonna and former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham traded their uber-cool look for the sari,while Nicole Scherzinger,the lead singer of Pussycat Dolls publicised the choli in her remixed version of AR Rehmans Jai ho.

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In India too,the choli has evolved from its regular look. It went from knotty,crisscrossed to the halter and bikini style. Madhuri Dixit,(who wore a seductive choli while she swayed to Choli ke peeche kya hai) Katrina Kaif,Preity Zinta,Kareena Kapoor,Lara Dutta and Shilpa Shetty have all been seen on-screen and at off-screen events in sheer saris and midriff-baring cholis with the pallu tightly pulled over the middle of the bust. After all,the beauty lies in showing off the blouse,not hiding it behind the pallu.

Rani put her own stamp on the tried and tested sartorial solutions and bared her back in a halter-neck blouse in Kabhi Alvida…. Fashion designer Manish Malhotra used the bikini-style choli,a cross between the bikini and the Rajasthani choli,innovatively. He added a touch of elegance (read velvet) and gave us the decades sexiest choli by way of Priyankas halter-neck figure-hugging velvet lehenga-choli (worn in Maa ka laadla) in Dostana. It wasnt the gold swimsuit in the film but the metallic beige sari and a bikini blouse with shoulder straps by the designer that made Priyanka the hottest desi girl. The fashion guru was responsible for yet another metamorphosis Kareenas midriff-baring halter-neck,silk brocade choli in Kambakkht Ishq.

Gone are the days when only a certain figure could carry off a daring choli. A voluptous Sonakshi Sinha sported a daring low-cut choli in Dabangg. Shilpa upped the fashion ante with her designer cholis while hosting Bigg Boss 2. The actress added a sexy twist to the sari by draping it differently: the slim pallu went past her waist,between her bosom and over her shoulder.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan also has a penchant for cholis. She wore chic blouses in Jodhaa Akbar. Prior to that,the actress had set the trend-o-meter high as she sizzled onscreen in a bright red choli revealing her stringy back in Ishq kamina in Shakti. Who can forget her in a brocade choli and a vibrant pink lehenga as she swayed to Kajra re in Bunty Aur Babli? When Katrina and Malaika Arora-Khan locked horns at the b-o with their item numbers,Sheila ki jawani and Munni badnaam hui,neither of the divas had to labour hard to look sexy in their low-cut cholis.

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As for Deepika Padukone,she made the choli fashionable abroad as she walked the Cannes red carpet in an ivory-and-gold sari paired with a Rohit Bal bustier blouse. At the premiere of Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey too,the actor looked resplendent in a red sari worn with a red strappy choli with tassels attached to the ends.

The choli is like first love that refuses to be forgotten or an old wine that keeps getting better. However,only time will tell if this high-street trend will witness any more improvisations.