Anju Modi Age, Husband, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Profession	Fashion Designer
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 165 cm in meters- 1.65 m in feet & inches- 5’ 5”
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Black
Career
Awards, Honours, Achievements	Won • 2012 : PCJ Excellence Award and ELLE Style Award • 2014 : Apsara Award for Best Costume Design for the film Goliyo ki Rasleela-Ramleela • 2014 : IBN Live Movie Award for Best Costume Design for the film Goliyo ki Rasleela-Ramleela • 2014 : Screen Weekly Award for Best Costume Design for the film Goliyo ki Rasleela-Ramleela • 2014 : Excellence in Fashion’ Award by Indian Council for UN Relations • 2016 : Filmfare Award for best costume design for the film Bajirao Mastani Nominated • 2008 : Marie Claire nominated her for ‘Best Craft Revival’ • 2010 : Marie Claire nominated her for ‘Best Indian Designer’ • 2014 : Filmfare award for best costume design for the film Goliyo ki Rasleela-Ramleela • 2016 : Asian Film Award for Best Best Costume Design for the film Bajirao Mastani
Personal Life
Date of Birth	March 31, 1954 (Saturday)
Age (as of 2021)	68 Years
Birth Place	Ranchi, Jharkhand
Zodiac Sign	Pisces
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	New Delhi
School	Loreto Convent School
College	Ranchi Women's College.
Controversies	When, an Indian Fashion Designer, Reynu Taandan shared her collection at the digital India Couture Week, her designs of an Anarkali and a Sharara set with gold print and embroidery looked similar to the designs of Anju Modi's 2015 collection. When Anju Modi came to knew about this, she contacted Reynu and asked her to remove the designs from the collection. Later, Reynu apologised and said that she was unaware of the similarity and it was an unintentional error. [1]The Times Of India
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Family
Husband/Spouse	Naresh Kumar Modi
Parents	Father- Atmaram Modi (Upper Bazaar businessman)
Children	Son- Ankur Modi Daughter-in-law- Priyanka Modi
Favourites
Actor	Ranveer Singh

Some Lesser Known Facts About Anju Modi

• Anju Modi is an Indian fashion designer, who had designed costumes for the films Ramleela and Bajirao Mastani. She is also among one of the founding members of the Fashion Design Council Of India (FDCI).

• Anju Modi started her career all on her own. She said in an interview that after the death of her husband, she was separated from her wedding home and had to earn for her survival. This is how she started her career in early 1990.

• She had a great passion for textiles and to pursue her passion, she started working from her brother’s place in Bangalore. Her passion for textiles took her to different states of the country. She once said,
  

  From Madras, I would take the beach road and head to Kerala in a taxi. It was a joyous road trip. My passion for textiles took me to Coimbatore and Salem in Tamil Nadu and interiors in Andhra Pradesh, where I observed Pochmpally ikats, Venkatagiri and Mangalagiri weave, Kalahasti Kalamkari, Gadwal and Narayanpet saris.”

• Anju Modi’s son and daughter-in-law own a clothing brand, AMPM.

• Priyanka Modi once shared her views on working with her mother-in-law under the same brand,
  

  Of course, working with my mother-in-law was an option but I wanted to start something of my own and also, she is a couturier and she is always into heavy dreamy garments and I always wanted to start a label that speaks of simplicity.” ^[2]Entrepreneur

• Many Bollywood celebrities have walked down the runway for Anju Modi.
  

  Kangana Ranaut and Anju Modi at India Couture week

• Anju Modi once shared her views on working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali. She said,
  

  Mr Bhansali is a delight to work with. He knows exactly what he wants and is very specific about it, but at the same time, he lets you experiment a bit. He is very creative and we discussed the details in-depth, but after that, he left it to me to execute.” ^[3]The Economic Times

• She also told the interviewer that she had to travel a lot while she was working on Bhansali’s movies. She said,
  

  For Ramleela, the team wanted lehengas with a lot of ghera that wouldn’t look bulky at Deepika Padukone’s waist. I sourced a few 100-year-old lehengas, restored and used them. I also visited a cottage in Bhuj to learn from the women how to cut a lehenga to add 50 metres flare without making it appear bulky. ^[4]The Hindu And for Bajirao Mastani, the costumes had to reflect the culture of the 18th-century royal heritage Maratha region. Mastani has Persian roots. I researched a lot when designing costumes for her. I visited many museums and read up about Persia, its culture, traditions and people. From Rumi and Kahlil Gibran to architecture, colours and motifs, everything inspired the costumes.” ^[5]The Economic Times Although, Bajirao was seen wearing angrakhas, but the story also includes his personal life, so what he wears to bed concerns me more. We had to imagine how he is at home.” ^[6]The Indian Express

• Anju Modi never considered Language as a barrier in her profession. In her opinion,
  

  The design has no language. I just had to say kumkum colour or show a mango leaf and they would tell me how to arrive at those dyes. That period helped me imbibe skill sets and work tirelessly. Even now I can work through the night.”^[7]The Hindu

• She once shared her desire to work with Mr Bhansali again. She said,
  

  Working with Mr Bhansali for ‘Bajirao Mastani’ was an exhilarating experience, but also an all-consuming one. I immersed myself in the entire process, and it translated beautifully on the screen. I would love to recreate that again with Mr Bhansali when the right project and opportunity arises.” ^[8]The Indian EXPRESS

• She loves to work on films that are rooted in history. As her designs are mostly inspired by traditional and historic artworks, she said, “I love working with a filmmaker taking on these kinds of subjects.” Although she found it to be very challenging, she enjoys designing for historical characters. “I’m more attracted by the character of the film rather than the film or filmmaker,” says Anju Modi.

• Anju Modi completed 25 years in the fashion industry in 2015. She said that her passion for textiles and the traditional art of the country empower her a lot. She shared in an interview,
  

  I thoroughly enjoyed the journey. There are always uphills and downhills but it’s a matter of taking it in your stride and checking what is it that will keep you motivated to have the courage to go beyond any difficulty. And once you have done it, it gives you a sense of satisfaction, content and achievement that as a person I am learning and evolving. Compassion and passion for art and culture of our country including reading and music keep me going and empower me.”

• Anju Modi promoted the use of Khadi and said ‘Swadeshi Bano,’ ‘Swadeshi Peheno’ in an interview with NewsX.

• When Anju Modi was asked that why she chose only textiles. She said,
  

  “Textile, not just fashion, it’s my Forte.”

• Designs of Anju Modi’s garments are the portrayal of her inspirations, she mentioned in an interview.

• Anju Modi’s designs are mostly inspired by traditional artworks, and she often travels to different parts of the country to have a close insight into the weaving techniques of different states. She once shared in an interview,
  

  It is my design philosophy to revive the old tradition and present it to you in my own way. I don’t think I haven’t visited any state in the country from Bhuj’s bandhani and Damadhka prints in Gujarat to Assam’s Muga silks.”

• Anju Modi went to Chennai for a fashion show. There, she appreciated the Chennai audience and said that she connected very well with them.
  

  I feel that people in Chennai are not into showing off but are practical and intelligent, and know exactly what they want. They’re not pretentious and don’t like something over the top because they put comfort first. I believe everyone should look at themselves instead of letting their appearance scream from the rooftop, this is why I connect with the city audience very well.” ^[9]DT NEXT

• Anju, once said in an interview, working on Ramleela and Bajirao Mastani was very time consuming and tiring. Later, when Mr Bhansali visited Anju for the film Padmaavat, she denied working on the project as she wanted a break from her hectic schedule.

• Anju Modi is considered an expert in designing lehengas. In an interview, she said,
  

  Ghagras are in my DNA. I am from Rajasthan and I understand the comfort of a lehenga more than a sari.” ^[10]The IndianExpress

• Anju Modi likes Ranjeev Singh as an actor. She loves the versatility that Ranveer shows in different characters.
  

  I love Ranveer. He is a dynamic person with a quirky sense of style. He had long hair in “Ram Leela” and in “Bajirao” he didn’t shy away from getting his head tonsured. He carried off both the looks with élan.” ^[11]The Economic Times

• In 2006, Anju Modi, Rohit Bal Manish Aurora, and Rajesh Pratap Singh were selected for Heyers Fashion Festival in Paris, organised by Paris Fashion week.

• She also supplies costumes to her NRI clients from countries like Jeddah, Kuwait, Bahrain, Dubai, London, California, San Francisco, Miami, Singapore and Hong Kong.

• In 2006, Anju was invited to present her collection at the Miami Fashion Week.

• In 2009, she was invited by the Department of Tourism to show her designs during their international event, India Calling at the Hollywood Bowl, in Los Angeles.

• In 2010, she was requested to present her collection at the Handloom Week, an initiative by the Ministry of Textiles.

• Anju Modi is a nature lover, and she loves to do photography in her leisure time. She said in an interview,
  

   I love photography and nature. So whenever I get time, I pick my camera up and go for a trek.”

• Once, Anju Modi was asked by an interviewer that why white colour dominated her collection, she said,
  

  White is a positive colour that indicates a tranquil mood and a peaceful state of mind. White is my weakness and I felt it is the best colour to express an artist’s self.”

• In the early years of her career, she used to stay with weavers and craftspeople to learn their techniques of weaving. In an interview, she said,
  

  Weavers and craftspeople are my Gurus. I lived in their homes, woke up in the morning and learnt to put the kolam (muggu) and got familiar with indigenous weaves, from Kanchi silks to Kodali Karuppur saris.”

• The fabric used by Anju Modi is 99 per cent made up of pure handloom and in the variety of Chanderi, silk, and tussar minus the fanfare and glitter of other fabric options. Even the shoelaces are made from rags that are not discarded by laborious artisans of our country.

• After Bajirao Mastani, her another big project was to design costumes for the Telugu movie Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy. For this movie, she used Gadwal, khadi, and other textiles from Andhra Pradesh. ^[12]The Hindu

• In an interview, Anju named some well-dressed people in India and Hollywood,
  

  I think Sonam Kapoor and Deepika Padukone in Bollywood, and Angelina Jolie in Hollywood are some of the best-dressed celebrities. But I’d love to dress Johnny Depp. ^[13]IDIVA

• In 2021, Anju Modi collaborated with BIBA to design a new Enchanted Forest collection for the festive season. The design of the collection included metallic and floral prints, high-end hand embroidery, and meticulously done zari work on fine fabrics such as silk, chanderi, velvet, and moda.