Blending Bollywood and Halloween: Indian American filmmaker honors Indian icons through costume

Filmmaker Chhaya Nene uses Halloween as a way to celebrate her Indian roots, dressing as Bollywood legend Vyjayanthimala and other trailblazing women who inspire her.

Halloween is a holiday usually reserved for scary costumes, characters from your favorite movies, or an excuse to eat a lot of delicious candy.

For one Indian American, it’s become a way to blend her two worlds. We spoke with Chhaya Nene, a filmmaker who has chosen a unique way to celebrate.

Chhaya, what made you choose Vyjayanthimala as your Halloween character?

She’s an icon. And although we’ve never met, she’s a part of the family. I grew up with my parents showing me her films like ‘Sangam’ and ‘Suraj’ and I just found her to be inspiring. We used to reenact her songs together on car rides or at family gatherings.

She’s a living legend and I wanted to honor that. I find myself listening to the Old is Gold track on Youtube and ‘Baharon Phool Barsao’ is one of the songs that is on repeat. I realized I had a ghagra I had received from a commercial I had done, so the rest kind of fell into place. I called a friend of mine who gave me her dupatta, then I called a photographer friend who jumped in and got another friend in to help with the shoot, and then I called a makeup artist friend and everyone came together to make this a possibility.

READ: Chhaya Nene’s ‘Kurta Pants’ set to premiere at CSAFF: (September 15, 2024)

While it won’t be the exact same as ‘Baharon Phool Barsao’ I wanted to do a modernish take on it, and get as close as I could to honor Vyjayanthimala-ji. I’m really excited and proud of it. She’s alive, performing this past February, and I hope she knows how much we respect her and that she is a fabric of our family. I tried to incorporate dance as she is an avid dancer, so some of the poses you see are from the music video, poses she’s done, and poses from the Sydney Opera House where she was the first Indian to perform.

Is this the first time you’ve dressed as a Bollywood heroine? What made you want to do that?

This is the first time as a heroine, yes. She challenged conventions and opened the door for many of us. I resonate deeply with that. I hope to do the same with my career as both a journalist and actress. I want to honor my roots, the people who gave us a chance, and then I want to turn that around and open the door for others.

What are some of the other notable characters that have inspired you?

Savitribai Phule was one of the first female teachers in India. She was also a poet.

I’ve dressed up as her. I’ve also been Jhansi Ki Rani, and Hansa Mehta. Jhansi was a Queen who fiercely fought the British with her baby on her back and Mehta was a social activist who helped draft the Indian Constitution, she also was the Indian delegate for the UN Human Rights Commission and she made the Universal Declaration of Human Rights change the phrase ‘all men created equal’ to ‘all human beings.’

Being first generation in this country means living in two worlds. I decided a couple of years ago to honor these badass women who put their lives on the line for us and whom I have a lot of respect for.

So how does this work? You dress up as them on the day? 

Yes – I dress up as them and then I go out – either to a bar or walk through neighborhoods with a card that says ask me. That way we get to have a conversation about who these ladies were and are. And people feel comfortable talking to you when you give them permission. I’ve had some really cool conversations that night or the days after— because I’ll share a photo on my socials and then people want to talk. I love these convos.

What do you hope will come from this? Do you think Vyjayanthimala-ji will see this? If so, do you have a message for her?

That would be incredible if she saw this.  I would say thank you for your artistry, busting down doors, and sharing your joy with us. You will always be a part of our family and I thank you for all of the beautiful memories we’ve had because of your work. I would love to meet you.

Going forward, I want to continue this series of capturing and honoring the different badass women who have opened doors for us. I hope to turn this into a photo essay series (maybe even a book) where I can embody these women and hopefully turn it into a larger series where I can incorporate more of my fellow artists from the South Asian diaspora to capture our sheroes and heroes. I would love that. Until then, each Halloween I will continue to honor special characters in our lives.