The current generation may not be aware of the Uber High Net Worth Individuals (UHNI) who supported Sabyasachi Mukherjee in his early days.This in no way undermines the unparalleled talent the designer has.
When in Mumbai in the early 2000s, Sabyasachi formed a great bond with the then super successful leading lady of the Hindi movies, Rani Mukherjee. Both being Bengalis formed the cornerstone of the brother-sister bond between Sabyasachi and Rani. Rani introduced Sabya to Sahara Shri, Subrata Roy. Those days Subrata Roy was at the pinnacle of his form and the Sahara Group was one of the Top Ten corporate houses of India. This introduction gave huge impetus to Sabyasachi’s business. He was the designer of choice for Subrata Roy’s son’s wedding in 2004, which was till then the most lavish wedding India has seen. Swapna Roy, the wife of Late Subrata Roy was a regular at Sabyasachi’s shows. The Roy family’s support took Sabya’s business a long way.
Rani Mukherjee also introduced Sabyasachi to Sanjay Leela Bhansali and that got him the costume designing project of SLB directed movie Black, featuring Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee. The movie won the National Award and Sabyasachi bagged the National Award for costume design.
Post Subrata Roy’s fall from grace, Sabyasachi delinked himself from the family entirely. So did Rani Mukherjee. But Sabyasachi’s greatness kept soaring and the brand was acquired by the Aditya Birla Group.
Now that Sabyasachi Mukherjee is planning to make movies, undoubtedly Rani Mukherjee will have a role to play. Wonder if Yash Raj Films will produce them or the Birla Studios.