REBEL WITH A CAUSE
“I started at the grassroot level and slowly worked my way up. It took me longer to grow, but it happened exactly the way I wanted.”
It is a sunny day in February, and the Bazaar team and I are gathered on the lawn of parliamentarian Mahua Moitra’s Delhi home. A three-month-old Rottweiler puppy named Henry—the newest addition to Mahua’s life—has the crew enthralled, and we ooh and aah as he chases a falling leaf and nibbles at our shoes. “Be careful, he’ll damage the equipment wires!” Mahua calls out from the dining room, where the make-up team is working their magic. And it’s a good thing she noticed, because little Henry has discovered a chewing toy in the camera wire, which is then rescued from a terrible catastrophe.
In under 24 hours, Mahua will leave for West Bengal to begin a strenuous, eight-phased battle for the upcoming Assembly Elections. For now, however, she is surveying the saris—her preferred choice of attire—laid out on the bed, by the Bazaar fashion team. She needs neither recommendations nor guidance. “I will wear this,” she states, pointing to a grey Payal Khandwala sari set, “and that one is nice!” (a green, floral Kshitij Jalori sari).
And then, in the very next breath, “Okay, let’s start shooting in five minutes!”
As promised, Mahua is with us in a few minutes, looking striking in over the arm of the chair, and gazes confidently into the lens, her lips pursed and the slightest smile at the corners of her mouth. “Very strong!” the photographer exclaims.
