B-town’s fave designer Manish Malhotra turns 52 today – how does he manage to look 25??!!! – and the wishes have been pouring in.

While Sridevi tweeted, “Happy Birthday to my dearest friend and well-wisher @ManishMalhotra. I am so glad to have you in my life and feel blessed to know someone like you, thank you for being a true friend,” Genelia D’Souza Deshmukh shared, “Happy Birthday Dearest @ManishMalhotra ... You for one just don't age in fact get hotter... lotsa love.”

Here’s traversing the journey of the Hindi film industry’s first bona fide fashion designer, as he tells it in his own words…

Recommended Read: KRITI, SIDHARTH & KJO SET RAMP ON FIRE FOR MANISH’S SHOW IN DUBAI

Special First

“When I did my first fashion show, purely out of emotion, I had asked Urmila Matondkar to walk for my show as we had just done this super successful movie, Rangeela. And there began the trend of showstoppers in the industry.

Because I was from the movies, I had a front row full of my actor friends, which has now become a norm. For me more than the trend, it's the support of my friends from the industry which has become a norm now.”

Diaspora Darling

“I became popular amongst the NRI audience who were, at the time, very confused between traditional and western clothes. Yash Birla and Avanti Birla, asked me to open a store when I had never even thought of retail or a label, but with a lot of insistence, I did open one. But my mind and heart was still in films.”

Movie Love

“I was only interested in the movies. Thursday would be a day off and every Saturday was a half day at school, so being in Bandra, Mumbai, I would visit its three popular theatres – Gaiety, Galaxy and Gemini. I've always been a big fan of Bollywood and I loved the actors, music, songs and the clothes that they wore.”

Starting Off

It was at the age of 21 that Malhotra had his first Bollywood assignment. “Here I was, at the age of 21, when a photographer called Rakesh introduced me to Sridevi and asked me to assist him in movies. The concept of styling was non-existent at the time. Soon, I started getting a lot of offers to work in films with Sridevi, Sunny Deol and a lot of other famous actors.”

Cash Woes

The early years were not easy. “In those days, producers were independent, so if a film would flop, the office would be shut and cheques used to bounce. There was no place to go and I had nothing else to fall back on, as I didn’t want to join my father’s business. So, I decided I have to give it my all.”

Insta Attention

“In the last two to three years, there has been an increase in awareness of social media. Digital has now become a popular medium to be connected with everyone around the globe. But in the earlier days, there was a lot of hard work that one did. But if the film didn’t run, no one saw it. But today even if a film doesn’t run, if you make an outfit, people will post about it on Instagram first. So it’s a bit short-lived, yet instant, but I think we’ve gone through a test of time sustaining and being here.”