National Award-winning costume designer Neeta Lulla has revealed that Juhi Chawla's iconic look in the song 'Ghoonghat Ki Aad Se' from the 1993 Bollywood classic 'Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke' — which went on to become a defining fashion trend of the decade — was assembled in a single frantic overnight session before a shoot in Jaipur. Lulla shared the backstory in a video posted on Instagram, offering a rare glimpse into the unplanned magic behind one of Hindi cinema's most-replicated looks.

The Midnight Call That Started It All

According to Lulla, the call came at around 6 pm the evening before the shoot. The team was set to travel to Jaipur the following morning and needed three outfits ready by daybreak. With no lead time for sourcing or planning, Lulla rushed to fabric stores and picked up whatever was available.

'I got all these fabrics from a store that was selling kachhi embroidery, kachhi fabrics and created the looks overnight,' she recalled. 'I used a lot of vintage mirror work. I used a lot of torans, cut them up and put them together, hand-stitched them and created blouses out of it.'

The Craft Behind the Costume

Lulla described a hands-on, instinct-driven process — visualising the entire look in her head before a single stitch was made. Ganti fabrics were repurposed into skirts, while tissue was fashioned into flowing dupattas. Traditional torans — decorative door hangings — were deconstructed and restitched as blouse panels, giving the costume its distinctive artisanal character.

The finished outfits were delivered in time for the crew to depart, and photographs from the Jaipur shoot were sent back to Lulla. 'I was amazed at how beautiful it looked against the backdrop,' she said.

A Look That Defined a Generation

When 'Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke' released in 1993, the song and its visuals struck an immediate chord with audiences. Lulla noted that college students across India began replicating the silhouette — mirror-work blouses, layered skirts, and dupatta draping — for campus events, India Day celebrations, and special occasions. 'It was a huge trend at that time for almost a couple of years,' she said.

The look's resonance is a textbook example of how a costume born of constraint can outlast the film itself, embedding itself in the cultural memory of an era.

About the Film

Directed by Mahesh Bhatt and loosely based on the 1958 Hollywood film 'Houseboat', 'Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke' starred Aamir Khan, Juhi Chawla, Sharokh Bharucha, and Kunal Kemmu. The film follows Rahul, who is tasked with raising his nephews Sunny and Vicky and niece Munni; their lives change when they shelter Vyjayanti, a young woman who has run away from home. The film remains a beloved entry in 1990s Bollywood, and Lulla's costumes are now widely cited as a significant part of its legacy.

Lulla's revelation adds yet another chapter to the film's enduring story — proof that some of cinema's most memorable moments are born not of luxury, but of deadline pressure and raw craft.