The Might of Mithun

Picking on Mithun's outfits in pretty much any of his films is pretty easy, but then, some things simply demand that they be done. Case in point:


OK, we're a bit pulled back for this shot, but you need to be so in order to take in the whole picture. Obviously, the first thing that catches the eye would be the banana yellow pipecleaner pants that are so tight even Joey Ramone would be uncomfortable in them. And who wears a scarf with a t-shirt? I mean besides, apparently, 80% of Bollywood?


Unfortunately, the video is of poor quality so you can't really make it out, but his shirt says "Super Disco" in sparkly letters.

Now, compare his Dick Tracy primary colored outfit to Sridevi's outfit from the same scene:


Hers is a timeless classic, I think we can all agree.

The lesson to be learned here, however, is simple: if it's warm enough to wear a t-shirt, it's warm enough not to wear a scarf. If it's warm enough for Sridevi to take a bath outside, it's warm enough not to wear a scarf.

Bollywood Fugly lesson #5: leave the outfit title up to the imagination

Text space on clothing should be saved for something the viewer can't guess, like, perhaps, a haiku, or your phone number, or known allergies to medications.




(Commando, 1998)

I can't think of just the right joke to make about Mithun Chakraborty being someone's "big tiger," if you know what I mean.

Bang bang! Disco Dancer

Thanks to Vik at Sepia Mutiny, it became all too clear that the time was all too right to get our hands dirty with the canon.


It's so easy.


It's sooo easy.


It's sooooo easy. And these are all from the same song.

A 1980s Bollywood movie about a 70s dance phenomenon. So very rich.

Jimmy's debut.

Not so bad, really; a lot of the girlsies on my college campus are wearing belts not unlike this these days. The crease down the front of his pants is intriguing, though. And do not overlook the backup gals in pink, who have on those
ice-skater-type tops that are sheer to look like bikini tops.


I haven't actually seen Barbarella but I sense these boots might have been raided from its costume shop.

On to the Krishna song.

Black outfit with feather seams lacking a little something?


Spice it up with some streamers!


Or with some ninja-y looking folks, also with streamers of course.


Or try some matching capes and skirts


and oh my stars the black calf-high socks. I think these are what puzzle me most of all.


And they're equally bad on either gender.


Given our project here, this might be jumping the gun, but I'm going to go ahead and award these pastel, be-cape-ed, black-socked monstrosities the Worst Backup Dancer Outfits in Bollywood (Coordinated for Both Genders) (so individual entries for female and male are still up for grabs). What I like about these is how peculiar they are. How did anyone ever think these were a good idea? They don't show up on film particularly well. They're certainly not flattering. They're not à la mode from any era.


I know he's wounded and all, but the poncho is silly. And I actually liked Rita's outfit here until I noticed that the pants were split down the side with some kind of gold thingy holding the bits together. I really hate lace-up-effect clothing. Hate.


And the greatest firangi in Bollywood, Bob Christo! It you must wear tight white pants, Bob, do it like Amitabh and my FPMFIL in Muqaddar Ka Sikandar.

I fast forwarded through this whole movie looking for gems, but you know what? Apart from the songs, the clothes here are pretty darn normal, especially given that it's 1) Bollywood, 2) 1983, and 3) about disco.