India's first fashion short film falls flat

Fashion stylist Pernia Qureshi stepped into the limelight last year after styling young fashion icon and lead actress Sonam Kapoor head-to-toe in Dior for "Aisha," the Bollywood version of the movie "Clueless."

On May 18, Qureshi premiered (online) what she claims is India's first fashion film, shot and directed by "Aisha" associate director Karan Boolani.

Titled "After Hours," this pointless short film, set in New Delhi high society, is intended to display Qureshi's styling USP: which is -- loosely -- luxury, glamor, high living and haute couture.

But for an aesthetic endeavor that proudly calls itself a "first" for the country, her film suffers from an underwhelming lack of focus in terms of storyboard, styling and cinematography.

The cast of characters combines models with Qureshi's friends, mixes vintage Indian couture by Tarun Tahiliani with Marc Jacobs, along with some fashion from Atsu, something from Miu Miu and even Zara.

In an interview with Explosivefashion.in, Qureshi says, "India will never be ready for something like this unless they are introduced to it. The aim with this video is to promote the Pernia Qureshi brand and identify my aesthetic more precisely. It is a video format of my portfolio and shows one aspect of my capacity as a stylist."