India's Met Gala? Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre opening spotlights Indian art, fashion

The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in BKC, Mumbai.

A 2,000-seat theater with 16,000 square feet of exhibition space; a chandelier embellished with 8,400 Swarovski crystals; and a Met Gala-like opening event attended by the who’s-who of the Indian film industry and Hollywood—the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) is emerging as the go-to international destination for Indian art and culture.

With a launch event that upstaged the Dior fall show at the Gateway of India from the previous night, the NMACC opening gala was a star-studded affair. Model Gigi Hadid, Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas and numerous other Bollywood and India Inc bigwigs were in attendance. American actress Zendaya, known for her role in the HBO series Euphoria, and English actor Tom Holland of Spiderman fame, also walked the red carpet on the second day.

Tom Holland and Gigi Hadid.

Reclaiming India’s Narrative

It is not that Indian art and culture hasn’t been represented on the global stage. But it has often been fetishised and exoticised on the rare occasion when it has got international attention. Consider how Western pop-culture often commodifies and primitivise Indians in films like Slumdog Millionaire (2009) and more recently, RRR (2022) immediately following their Oscar wins. Or, perhaps how Beyoncé appropriated Indian culture in Coldplay’s music video for Hymn For The Weekend. The West and its figureheads have borrowed from Indian culture and used it to make themselves look ‘exotic’, this despite Indians shouting ‘my culture is not your aesthetic’ from the rooftops. Seldom has Indian culture been represented on an international scale how Indians would want their culture to be represented—with respect, sans condescension, or caricaturization.

Also read: World’s richest man reaches out to India's luxury market with landmark Dior Show

This is where the NMACC steps in—it is helping Indians reclaim their narrative and exercise greater autonomy over the art and culture which is their own, as opposed to seeking validation of the West. An Indian event on an Indian soil, organised by Indians, with celebrities from around the world in attendance is just the renaissance Indian art needs. Nita Ambani, the founder and chairperson of NMACC is a businesswoman and philanthropist, but more importantly, a “Bharatnatyam dancer at heart” as her daughter Isha Ambani describes. She envisions the centre as “a place that nurtures and inspires Indian artists in years to come”.

The opening act at the NMACC is a performance titled 'The Great Indian Musical: Civilization to Nation', by Feroz Abbas Khan. It is the “biggest Indian musical ever” with 350 performing artists and a 55-piece live orchestra. The musical traces India’s journey “through a sensory reverie of dance, drama, music, and other art forms that give the country thousands of years of distinct cultural identity”. Once the three-day launch weekend concludes on April 3, the exhibition at the NMACC will be on display till June 4. A multicultural extravaganza of epic proportions? You bet.

In Focus: Indian Couture

What was particularly enthralling about the NMACC gala was international celebrities using their fame to put the spotlight on Indian designers and artisans. Gigi Hadid wore Rahul Mishra couture—an intricately embroidered floral jacket complete with pants. Hadid thanked Mishra and the Indian artisans for their craftsmanship in an Instagram post. Mishra, who was the first Indian designer to show at Paris Couture Week, has built a sustainable couture brand that works with handmade techniques, in an effort to empower India’s local artisans.

Zendaya, who first wore Rahul Mishra at the launch of Bulgari’s B.Zero1 Rock jewelry in 2020, wore a garment designed by Mishra again at NMACC Day 2, this time in the form of an exquisite blue saree. Also using their influence to spotlight Indian designers were Bollywood stars with Alia Bhatt wearing a custom silver saree by Vaishali S, a luxury label known to transform Indian handlooms into wearable art. Kareena Kapoor meanwhile donned a red Anjul Bhandari lehenga. Bhandari’s label reimagines the traditional embroideries from Awadh—Chinkankari and Mukaish. While Natasha Poonawalla donned a black Sabyasachi gown complete with a cape, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh wore Anamika Khanna, a label known for presenting India’s traditions encapsulated in global contours.

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The NMACC, in addition to being the first-of-its-kind exhibition centre for India arts and culture, is also empowering homegrown Indian fashion labels. While one usually sees such collections at international couture week, this is perhaps the first time a confluence of labels on this scale has been seen on Indian soil.

Comparisons With Met Gala

NMACC meanwhile is also being dubbed as the ‘Indian Met Gala’, with some comparing the scale of the two events, both of which have celebrities looking their fashionable-best. However, there are a few fundamental differences. The Met Gala is a fundraising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City, which requires a $30,000 donation from the attendees. The donation is used to bolster the Met museum in an effort to keep it up and running. The NMACC meanwhile is mostly self-funded, with celebrities in attendance walking the carpet to spotlight Indian designers. While the Met Gala is chaired by Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, who decides on the theme and guests every year, NMACC is chaired by Nita Ambani, a connoisseur of Indian art and culture.

The Met Gala, of course, has an 80-year history while NMACC is still in its inception stage. It remains to be seen how the cultural centre fairs but if the comparisons with the Met, which is often described as ‘fashion’s biggest night out’, are anything to go by, the NMACC is off to a good start already.

Here’s to Indians reclaiming their art and culture.