Sapna Bhavnani poses with Audrey Hat-Burn
Sapna Bhavnani poses with Audrey Hat-Burn

Totally expecting to find mannequins with watermelons for heads, Ranjit Rodricks braved the heavy rains on Sunday evening and made it to Zenzi in Bandra to check out what all the fuss was about the much hyped Kalingar Project.

We can't guarantee a safe flight if you wore a wig like this
We can’t guarantee a safe flight if you wore a wig like this

The brainstorm of designer Masaba Gupta, hair stylist Sapna Bhavnani, photographer Joy Dutta and make-up artist Mehgana Butani, the Kalingar Project – an exhibition that was on for all of five hours at Zenzi in Bandra – had nothing to do with summer’s most refreshing fruit.

Masaba Gupta with an ornately decorated mannequin
Masaba Gupta with an ornately decorated mannequin

Instead, it was an art installation of mannequins which had been styled by the trio of Masaba, Meghana and Sapna. While Masaba lent clothes from her previous collections to dress the mannequins, Sapna had created elaborate head-pieces, using real hair sourced from her clients. Photographer Joy Dutta shot pictures of the final product and had it shown continuously on a screen during the exhibition.

Saree by Masaba Gupta. Wig by Sapna Bhavnani
Saree by Masaba Gupta. Wig by Sapna Bhavnani

“All the mannequins have names,” says Sapna with a wicked smile. “This one is called Self-Portrait,” she tells us, pointing to a figure with a cage filled with plastic flowers on its head and kitschy things like a plastic deep-sea diver and a florescent green water-tap attached to it.

Sapna's "self-portrait"
Sapna’s “self-portrait”
dive in to this hair-do
dive in to this hair-do

“And this one (below) is Parrot Hilton,” beams Sapna. Sure enough, it had a parrot perched on top.

Parrot Hilton's youngest fan
Parrot Hilton’s youngest fan

If these funky names were not enough, we were also “introduced” to Chandel-hair (like chandelier).

Chandel-Hair (pronounced like Chandelier
Chandel-Hair (pronounced like Chandelier)

Audrey Hat-burn (no prizes for guessing who that is named after)…..

Audrey Hat-Burn
Audrey Hat-Burn

and the Munshi Man who had multi- coloured fluorescent shot-glasses stuck to his scalp – a brilliant idea for a bald person like me to do for the next Halloween party!

close-up of Munshi Man
close-up of Munshi Man
multiple dismembered dolls heads decorate Munshi Man
multiple dismembered dolls heads decorate Munshi Man

Masaba Gupta tells us that they definitely plan to do at least one art-related project a year and right now, she’s busy with plans to shift her boutique from Juhu to Bandra. It will be in one of the by-lanes of this bustling suburb and will house Masaba’s boutique on one level and Sapna’s hair salon – called MAD-O-WOT – on another level. “It’s because of this shifting that I won’t be able to participate in the Lakme Fashion Week this season,” she confides.

Sapna Bhavnani in good cheer
Sapna Bhavnani in good cheer

Due to the rains, we suppose, not many of the swish set showed up to check out this fantastic collaboration. However, Masaba’s close friends – designer Nishka Lulla and model Siddharth Rawal – were there to encourage her.

Designer Nishka Lulla
Designer Nishka Lulla
Model Siddharth Rawal
Model Siddharth Rawal

We also spotted MTV veejay Siddharth Bhardwaj and heard that Ayub & Niharika Khan had also dropped by with a few friends for a look-see.

MTV veejay Siddharth
MTV veejay Siddharth
quite a colourful clan
quite a colourful clan

We only wish the four artists had the guys at Zenzi whip up some hot tea or coffee for their invites. After braving the downpour, it would have been a great idea to refresh ourselves with some chai-kaapi….or maybe some freshly squeezed watermelon juice….