There’s a reason why you won’t ever see Lady Gaga don her notorious meat dress in India. Because ‘Act sensible, dress decent, and stay away from talk about religion or poverty’ is what’s in the contract of international popstars who wish to perform in India, reveal organisers.
Popstar Lady Gaga who recently claimed that the Government of Philippines has asked her to ‘tone down’ her moves for her Manila tour that starts today, was apparently given similar instructions when she visited India in October last year.
“They have to behave very differently when performing in India, including changing their dress sense, dance moves and what they say on-stage,” says an organiser of such concerts, wishing to stay anonymous. Sujit Jain, MD, Netsurf Entertainment, who organised shows for Bryan Adams and Akon in India, says, “We had to explain the Indian sensibilities to the celebs and make it a part of the agreement that no act or action would be contrary to the same.”
Ayush Bansal of P3P who got Pitbull to India, adds, “Female artists are particularly asked to dress decently keeping the Indian sentiments in mind. We also ask them not to comment on Indian culture, religion, poverty and politics to avoid any misleading statements.”
Our desi heroines may wear revealing gowns that leave little to imagination, but the advice given to most international celebrities performing here, is to wear demure clothes by Indian designers. “Unlike in the west, they have to abstain from using religious symbols on their dresses in India. We encouraged both Lady Gaga and Katy Perry to wear Indian designers, because they would anyway not design anything offensive to Indians. Gaga wore a Tarun Tahiliani sari, which her stylist adapted and draped to suit Gaga’s typical style,” says Anjula Acharia Bath, CEO of desihits.com which brought Lady Gaga to India.
Our desi heroines may wear revealing gowns that leave little to imagination, but the advice given to most international celebrities performing here, is to wear demure clothes by Indian designers. “Unlike in the west, they have to abstain from using religious symbols on their dresses in India. We encouraged both Lady Gaga and Katy Perry to wear Indian designers, because they would anyway not design anything offensive to Indians. Gaga wore a Tarun Tahiliani sari, which her stylist adapted and draped to suit Gaga’s typical style,” says Anjula Acharia Bath, CEO of desihits.com which brought Lady Gaga to India.
A big no no
Revealing outfits
Indecent dance moves
Raunchy lyrics
Donning religious symbols
Talk about poverty
Any political statement