BAL IMBALANCE: GUDDA THE UNWEARABLE!
Asmita Aggarwal (HT City)

Rohit Bal a.k.a. Gudda is a showman. At his show,atic skills took over his designing talent. Balance, Gudda’s pret line for men, was highly unbalanced though it managed to get Neha Dhupia whistling and almost falling off her chair in excitement. Manjiri Singhania, wife of Sanjeev Gupta of Candico summed it up: “Those bold floral or quilted jackets only look good on the ramp. Otherwise, they are highly unwearable and unbearable.” The drama proved that Gudda is a flashbulb designer who targets the paparazzi.

Still, the designer managed to attract the swish set though the show started an hour late. There was chaos outside the hall, due to IMG’s mismanagement. Spotted in the front row: Prabhu Chawla, Misha Grewal, Robert Vadra, J.J. Valaya, Ajjay Bijli, Raian Karanjawala who complained, “I was hoping to see women.” Unfortunately, there were only men on the ramp and the show started with Michael Jackson’s Thriller. The music too was better than the clothes. Exclaimed socialite Shalu Jindal, “I can buy these clothes meant for men, rather than for my husband Naveen.”

The floral pants and leather undies were impeccable – very European with careful detailing. His clothes are remarkable in stitching and finish but they got a bit tacky with Bal written all over body-hugging leather shirts and Spiderman shirts with hideous hoods, red patent leather jackets and to make matters worse, red, parrot green and canary yellow shoes.

Also seen: Former FDCI chief Sumeet Nair who was stopped by the arrogant Zubin Sarkari of IMG with, “Where’s your invite?” An embarrassed Sumeet replied, “I don’t have one.” Ironic, as till last year, he was in-charge.

The show saw more action off the stage than on it, but it was sad to see a talented designer like Gudda fall into the trap of partying hard with the focus shifting to maximise his page 3 appearances.