Rajah Muzaffar Ali is an Indian filmmaker, a fashion designer, a poet, an artist, a music-lover, a revivalist, and a social worker. He belongs to a royal Muslim Rajput family of Kotwara. Umrao Jaan,Anjuman,Zooni,Jaanisaar,Aagaman are all his movies.He is also a National Film Awardee too.The filmaker has also been presented with the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award!
Sita Wadhwani of Vogue says in her article
The "House of Kotwara" is an interesting study in craft, education, culture and humanism promoted by art in all its forms including music and film, and couture is just one of them."
House of Kotwara has interested me in many levels.. There are an amazing list of things that set the mood in this historical Haveli. Old reading glasses,Urdu typewriter,collection of historical plates. The formal living area with ornate ceiling, arched doorways, old shaama dans and antiques, mirrors and portraits, nostalgic reminders of a beautiful historical time. The stunning dining room retains its old world ambience given a contemporary touch with its rust coloured walls.
Vogue says:
"The evolution of Meera and Muzaffar Ali's couture label House of Kotwara is also the story of the region of Awadh (an area in the centre of modern-day Uttar Pradesh) and the preservation of its people and its designs, while spanning a continuity of traditions in craft techniques from other regions with royal legacies, such as Kashmir, Hyderabad, Kerala and Bengal.
This season, the Alis offer a collection of classic and conservative bridal wear embellished with pearls, zardozi, gota and chikan embroidery, creating an intriguing collage of textures on Kotwara's signature ankle-length striped palazzo pants, lehengas, shararas, saris and choghas.
There's an ethereal quality to Meera's work as both a designer and architect, which meets the artistic flair of her husband and long-time collaborator, acclaimed filmmaker, poet, artist and present Raja of Kotwara Muzaffar Ali. I love the understated style in their home,which is so like me at our home.Spacious coridors covered with locally made dhurries, a palana in one bedroom.
This home is a testimony to their creative approach to restoration. While one wouldn't want to shift the layers of a thousand years of history, their renovations, their controlled use of contemporary colours and remodelling of artefacts for alternate usage, have made this home a bench mark of stylish yet sensitive restoration.ensuring that future generations will not forget the elegance and values of this era.
Courtesy: Text:Mridula Sharma, Photographs:Amit Mehra
Courtesy: Inside Outside Magazine
