Vidya ‘Lolita’ Balan (top) steps on to the stage at The Park on Wednesday evening after actress Swastika Mukherjee and model Sudipta (above) sashayed down the ramp in Parineeta gear. Pictures by Pabitra Das

Fashion brushed with Bollywood at The Park banquets on Wednesday evening, for a one-hour show recreating the romance of the Parineeta era, straight out of Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s recent hit, on the ramp.

Models enacted the songs from the celluloid take on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s classic, set in the 1960s. Jewellery designed by Ananya Chatterjee of Anjali Jewellers, who also created the dazzlers for the film, accompanied creations by Snehashish Bhattacharya, who put together the men’s wardrobe for the Saif Ali Khan-starrer.

The star attraction of the evening, Vidya Balan, gave the ramp a miss, only stepping on to the stage to cheer the designers after the show.

“I can talk the talk, but I just can’t walk the walk,” laughed Parineeta’s Lolita. “It feels really special to see other people perform the songs from my film. And they did it so very beautifully,” smiled Vidya.

The event, titled Yesterday Once More, started off by paying tribute to make-up artiste Prabir De who was killed in an accident recently. Commentary supported visuals capturing moments of De’s life, taking the audience back through his years in the glamour industry.

With only a white bench and gas streetlight as props, the stage was set before the show kicked off. It opened with a white-on-white collection of men’s kurtas and churidars. Snowy floral embroidery, sometimes jazzed up with sequins, adorned fine white and off-white silks.

The next sequence introduced the ladies on the ramp, including actresses June and Swastika Mukherjee. Elaborate gold necklaces, cummerbunds, earrings, nose-rings and tiklis were worn with traditional Bengali tant and cotton saris.

The men sported colourful punjabis with off-white dhotis and intricately-worked uttariyas, doing the catwalk to Phule phule bhawnra dole.

The mood of the proceedings changed dramatically as cocktail saris and glasses of red wine were introduced as a toast to the spirit of Calcutta’s nightlife of old to the tune of Kaisi paheli hai yeh.

Crepes and chiffons in bright hues of red, black, green and blue were embroidered and embellished with sequins and threadwork. Stones, beads and Rajasthani meenakari defined the jewellery.

It was back to tradition with Yeh hawayein, with the men flaunting more casual kurtas and women draped in saris both traditional Bengali and cocktail.

The beats of dhak accompanied by dhunuchi naach by the male models gave way to the next opulent menswear line of heavily embroidered sherwanis in hues of olive, black, navy and green in luxurious silks.

Bengali richness as its best was saved for last in the form of tiklis, large earrings, bangles and other striking accessories. June, draped in a white and gold dhakai, stole the show here, almost breaking into a dance to Piyu bole.

Some of the other catwalkers included Tanusree, Sejuti, Priyanka, Ishika, Sourav, Samrat, Ved and Neeraj.