Star power at Sanjana Jon's
fashion show causes stampede.
New Delhi, Oct 28 Sanjana Jon's show at the Wills Lifestyle India
Fashion Week may have been high on glamour with Salman Khan and
Sushmita Sen walking the ramp with other celebrities, but it turned
out to be a "fashion disaster" and even caused a mini
stampede post the show.
While the designs looked amateur, ill-fitted, and extremely high
on bling, the post show media conference was a total mess with almost
150 people -- few of them from the media -- vying for one "close"
glimpse or an exclusive byte from Salman Khan.
"I saw Salman Khan walk the ramp but I want to hear him once,"
said a female fan.
Alas, her wish wasn't fulfilled. Though Sanjana was able to answer
all queries before Salman came in to address the press, trouble
ensued thereafter. The entire crowd started pushing towards the
actor, much to the dismay of those standing in front and for the
10 bodyguards, who failed to manage the crowd.
There was a mini stampede where female mediapersons struggled to
even stand still.
Salman, who was dressed in a plain black shirt and a pair of trousers
with an ostentatious belt, waited patiently for the situation to
come under control. But it only got worse.
"Save me! Get me out of here," shouted a print journalist,
who was sitting on one knee and had three people over her, until
a bodyguard came to her rescue.
However, when this IANS correspondent managed to cut across the
massive crowd, she reached right in front of Salman and asked: "What
do you have to say?"
He said: "Nothing! I guess I'll go now."
Immediately after, he whispered into Sanjana's ear: "Let's
go now. There's no point."
Salman's brother Sohail, who is an actor-cum-producer, told IANS:
"This isn't how it should be. Please try and get people to
control this."
According to a security guard at the venue, the organisers had
planned to build an elevated post show conference stage to avoid
such a situation. However, there were last minute changes.
"Agar stage hota yahaan toh aisa nahin hota (If there was
a stage here, this stampede wouldn't have taken place)," he
said on the condition of anonymity.
People were not only upset with the post show chaos, but Sanjana's
clothes as well.
Designer Rahul Jain of label Sirali said: "If this is fashion,
all of us must die. Even though Sanjana is a friend, I would say
the clothes were horrible - they looked straight out of Chandni
Chowk or something. We designers put in days of creativity and hard
work into our designs and then there is this sort of a show - happening
only for the money and the star power. This is just so unfair."
Sanjana is the sister of Indian-born fashion designer Anand Jon,
who was convicted by a Los Angeles court last month of sexually
assaulting several girls and young women. During his trial, Sanjana
made frequent visits to India with her mother to appeal to the Indian
government and design fraternity to fight for her brother, and gradually
became a popular socialite here.
When her name came up among the showcasing designers at the current
edition of WIFW, it caused a stir especially because no one was
aware of her design talent. But she claims to have made her fashion
debut at Cannes in 2004 and says she also participated in the 2005
New York Fashion Week.
For her collection which was showcased late Sunday night, Sanjana
drew inspiration from the Indian family system. Hence, she brought
on stage a melange of celebrity siblings such as Salman Khan-Sohail
Khan, Sushmita Sen-Rajiv Sen, Riya Sen-Raima Sen, Amaan Ali Khan-Ayaan
Ali Khan, Shibani Kashyap, boxing champ Vijender Singh et al to
spread the "the strength of love amongst siblings and family
in India".
The show was a tribute to her brother, who has been sentenced to
59 years in prison.
Pointing to all the male celebrities around her, she said: "What
would I need more when I have so many brothers here with me?"
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