Arjun Bhasin: The Zoya Akhtar factor and costuming the ‘New’ Bollywood hero

This article explores the symbiotic relationship between Arjun Bhasin and the filmmaker Zoya Akhtar, a creative collaboration often credited for constructing the ‘New Age’, cosmopolitan cinematic masculinity for the noughties. Taking Zoya’s brother Farhan Akhtar’s Dil Chahta Hai (2001) as an entry point, the article reads the ways in which, in an increasingly consumerist culture, lifestyle choices and aspects of fashion shape the identities of the protagonists, facilitate transnational flow and fluidity, and help them express their uniqueness in Zoya Akhtar’s select films. Drawing on the theories of masculinities, film studies, fashion cultures, neo-liberalism and globalization, this study articulates how Zoya Akhtar’s character-driven films, Luck by Chance (2009), Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011) and Dil Dhadakne Do (2015), are synergized with Arjun Bhasin’s international outlook, capture the spirit of the zeitgeist and redefine the representation of the Bollywood hero on-screen. The questions this article posits are: what are the ways in which Arjun Bhasin’s creations helped define the new age masculinity in the post-2000 era Bollywood; and how Bhasin’s designs aid the characters’ quest for identity, aspirations and self-expression.