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Beyond coffee...

Designer Rocky S on food, fashion and more

PHOTO: ANU PUSHKARNA

IT'S HOT Rocky S trying his hand at tandoor at The Grand in New Delhi.

It's lunchtime and Rocky S is finding it difficult how to fit in meals between fittings. The designer has his show this Friday at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week. "I haven't slept for two days. I don't eat much before the show. I rely on coffee. It keeps me charged," says Rocky enjoying a break at the Coffee Shop of The Grand. In comes coffee, but Rocky refuses to part with his cap, not even for the photo shoot, for he has "a bad hair day."

It is this exacting attitude that describes Rocky Singhvi, the Mumbai man in New Delhi. "I am very particular about the details in life, be it food or fashion. I believe both are regulated by emotions. I must know what are the ingredients in my food as much as I want to be assured of the final finish in my outfits," says Rocky, a pure vegetarian.

All in the name

"My grandfather named me Rocky. When I became a designer Singhvi didn't gel with Rocky so I changed it. The new name came with fresh problems. People started taking me as a man with lots of attitude which is untrue. I am just shy," clears Rocky.

Vegetarian options are aplenty , from oven baked jacket potatoes to assorted vegetables, a combination of pokchoi, onions, red cabbage and cashewnuts. The latter gets a nod from Rocky but does it really go well with a Marwari gentleman! "True. But right from childhood I have seen oceans of oil floating over vegetables. I am fed up. Still my favourite happens to be home-cooked food. I carry salad, tofu and bajara rotis with me. It's only on Sundays that I enjoy the extravagance of gatte ki sabzi and dal bati cooked by mother."

Rocky adds, "I can't get carried away with my creativity. I always look for commercial viability ."

Rocky is a creator in kitchen as well.

"I experiment a lot, that's why I couldn't repeat my performance. Once I made cheese dosa with beans and friends liked it, but I could not treat them again. I also try different things with tofu, like tofu bhaji and tofu parantha. With soya as the basic ingredient, it is a healthy substitute of eggs and cheese."

Fashion is about change, and Rocky is changing too. Someone who has designed costumes for 450 films in 15 years, the latest being Krrish, for last few years Rocky is making a conscious effort to break free from the Bollywood image. A tie-up with Pantaloon is a case in point.

"I am done with the strong, sexy look with a riot of colours. This time it is soft, feminine with pure pastels. It's about a girl who is sad and is lost in the woods. There won't be any actors on the ramp for creations should speak for themselves." ."

Then there is a parting shot: "Delhi is the fashion capital of India and India is the food capital of the world."

Coming from a Mumbai-based designer, some dessert this?

ANUJ KUMAR

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