Rahman and wife make a style statement at Oscars

Oscar-winning music maestro A.R. Rahman's media-shy better half Saira Banu walked the red carpet at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood for the 81st Annual Academy Awards.

Clad in a black kurta-churidar by Sabyasachi Mukherjee, the demure wife of the maestro has by choice always maintained her distance from the limeligh till date. She was not a much known face among the Indians, let alone on the global platform before appearing at the awards.

Saira Banu was all over the TV screens worldwide when she walked the red carpet clinging to her husband's right arm throughout the ceremony.

Not much of a speaking lot, both husband and wife have had perhaps the maximum number of public appearances courtesy the worldwide success of Danny Boyle's Mumbai-based rags-to-rajah story "Slumdog Millionaire".

Rahman won two golden statuettes - for best original song "Jai ho" and best original score for the film.

Even though Rahman has proved he has impeccable music sense - as is evidenced by his twin Oscars, when it comes to following fashion trends, he completely trusts his wife Saira Banu, says his stylist Vijayeta Kumar.

"He is a very simple person and doesn't believe in doing anything flashy. He is not at all brand conscious and blindly depends on Saira for the final call," Vijayeta Kumar told IANS over the phone from Mumbai.

"The reason behind this is that Saira is more aware and keeps herself updated about the latest trends," she added.

This Mumbai-based stylist who is also a filmmaker has been associated with Rahman for over a year now. She had met him on the sets of a musical show "Mission Ustad" on 9X, for which she was the stylist.

Rahman's wife got in touch with Kumar after the show and since then she has been designing for the maestro at various concerts and award functions.

"Both of them are so amazing and down to earth. They are wonderful. It's been a wonderful experience and after his win at the Oscars, Rahman has proved that he is the best," Kumar said.

At the Oscars, Rahman was wearing a black Lanvin tuxedo and for the live performance he wore Indian designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee's creation - a black sherwani.

"The red carpet dressing is very strict so we were very clear from the beginning that he is going to wear a tuxedo. There was no question of opting for any Indian attire or repeating any outfit," Kumar explained.

"We zeroed in for Sabyasachi for the sherwani because he is the best. We had to make sure that Rahman was wearing something comfortable while performing. So what better than a sherwani and that too a Sabyasachi," she added.

Was it a coincidence that both Rahman and Saira were wearing black?

"Both of them just love black. So it was a conscious decision," Kumar maintained.

Elaborating on Rahman's style statement, Kumar said: "It is very easy to dress him because he doesn't believe in brands. He gives importance to comfort levels."

"He is a jeans and shirt man. Sometimes he wears kurtas with churidars also," she added.

Meanwhile, as India rejoiced at A.R. Rahman's double Oscar win, his brother-in-law and namesake Rahman said it is the reward for the maestro's life-long commitment to music.

Rahman, who acts in films, told reporters that a harmonium was his brother-in-laws's constant companion even during his honeymoon.

"We were told that in the middle of the night he was sitting in the next room and playing a harmonium in Kodaikanal where he had gone for his honeymoon. Such was his dedication," Rahman said.