How Much Was Madhuri's Dhak Dhak Outfit Sold For?

'Why don't I organise an auction of cinematic memorabilia?' recalls Dinesh Raheja.
'There are sure to be legions of film buffs who will cherish the chance to own souvenirs intimately associated with their favourite stars onscreen.'

IMAGE: Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit in the Dhak Dhak song from Beta.

Ever wonder what happens to the costumes that our stars flaunt on screen? Well, I did.

I asked my designer friend Anna Singh if stars' outfits have an afterlife after their films release. She informed me that most costumes are stacked away in petis (metal boxes) and kept in the production house's storage room.

That's when an idea struck me: Why don't I organise an auction of these well-known cinematic memorabilia? There are sure to be legions of film buffs who will cherish the chance to own souvenirs intimately associated with their favourite stars onscreen.

That's how my team at Movie magazine and I organised an auction of star paraphernalia called Forever Yours back in 1993.

Full credit to the stars and film producers who donated the outfits. I remember navigating Rajshri Productions' cavernous storage room at Mumbai's Prabhadevi with rows of clothes racks like in a department store, and picking out a couple of shirts worn by Salman Khan in Maine Pyar Kiya.

Among several other filmmakers, Ketan Manmohan Desai also generously proffered several outfits from his father's iconic hits.

Archana Puran Singh, who was our auctioneer, didn't charge a penny while Ayesha Shroff was the chief guest.

The first outfit to go under the hammer was Madhuri's famous Dhak Dhak outfit from Beta.

A pretty young lady called Anita rather shyly bid Rs 2,000 (the rupee value was much higher three decades ago).

Another young woman, Mickey, contested the bid. It went up to Rs 2,500 and Mickey took home the outfit.

IMAGE: Sridevi and Sanjay Dutt in Gumrah.

Mickey's husband Akash Arora next snapped up Sridevi's outfit from Gumrah for Rs 2,500.

"It's for my wife," he grinned while his spouse blushed.

For himself, Akash bid for Jackie's suede boots which the star had sported in a few films, but he had to compete with Archana's then-boyfriend-now-husband Parmeet 'Bittu' Sethi (Archana kept darting him Are-you-sure-Bittu? glances).

Bittu finally walked off with them for Rs 2,400.

IMAGE: Pooja Bhatt. Photograph: Kind courtesy Dinesh Raheja

Pooja Bhatt's hat and bodysuit were by some mistake sold together.

A 'die-hard Pooja Bhatt fan' bought them for Rs 2,500 miffing Ashish Kejriwal no end. The young man, who lived near our office in Breach Candy, was a regular at all our magazine's star events. He complained, "I wanted the hat but what would I have done with the bodysuit?"

Juhi Chawla's pillow which he picked up for a grand put him in a better mood.

IMAGE: Pooja Bedi's bikini in Lootere.

There were a few light moments.

A man outbid another competitor for Pooja Bedi's bikini from Lootere for a couple of thousand rupees, and then sent everybody into convulsions of laughter at the excited little jig he did.

IMAGE: Salman Khan in Maine Pyar Kiya.

A starry-eyed young fan bought Salman Khan's Maine Pyar Kiya shirt for Rs 2,300.

IMAGE: Vinod Khanna, Rishi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan in Amar Akbar Anthony.

Amitabh Bachchan's white-coloured padre's vestment from Amar Akbar Anthony fetched a grand.

IMAGE: Amitabh Bachchan and Amrita Singh in Toofan.

A coat studded with gold coins that the superstar had worn in Toofan put Rs 2,000 more into the kitty.

IMAGE: Govinda, Amitabh Bachchan and Rajnikanth in Hum.

Govinda's Hum outfit went under the hammer for Rs 1,800.

IMAGE: Akshay Kumar and Deepak Tijori in Khiladi.

A pullover from Khiladi Akshay Kumar, then still a newcomer, went for Rs 1,700.

The items were authenticated by either the star or the film-maker's signatures.

IMAGE: Dev Anand, Junior Mehmood and Rajendranath in Hare Rama Hare Krishna.

Ayesha Shroff made the highest bid for Dev Anand's shirt from Hare Rama Hare Krishna for Rs 2,600.

"This is for Jackie," she said.

Jackie later told us, "I'd seen Devsaab wear this in Hare Rama and wanted it ever since. When I tried it on, I can't explain what I felt."

IMAGE: Sanjay Dutt in Aatish.

Sanjay Dutt's jeans from Aatish also got an 'Aye' from Ayesha for Rs 2,600. When asked why she had made the purchase, she animatedly answered, "I am his fan."

Archana ribbed her, "Won't Jackie mind?" Ayesha sportingly quipped back, "So is he!"

Kalpana Iyer's eyes moistened when she picked up sari worn by her favourite Nargisji. and declared, "It's come from the Dutt home to the Iyer home for Cheshire Home."

IMAGE: Rishi Kapoor in Sargam.

Rishi Kapoor's dafli from Sargam fetched a handsome Rs 1,600.

IMAGE: Raj Kapoor in Delhi for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Photograph: Rediff Archives

Archana read out Randhir Kapoor's emotional note attached to the suit his father Raj Kapoor wore last before he left for Delhi to collect his Dadasaheb Phalke award.

I bought the suit for Rs 2,500, a steal. It made a good conversation piece for a few years.

As the evening wound up, all 34 items were declared sold and we found we had collected Rs 70,600.

The proceeds were spent on wheelchairs bought for the Cheshire Homes, a charitable home for people with disabilities, in Mumbai.