Salman Khan’s ‘Sikander’ kurta a hit before Eid

Hallowed by the stardust as it were, the kurta-pyjama is being sold at a premium price of Rs 2,800, as against Rs 1,000-1,500, the usual price for this type of clothing

New Delhi: Days to go before Salman Khan’s ‘Sikander’ hits the theatres, an attire he dons in a song is already a hit among the youths. An almost jostling has pervaded the markets before Eid for the black embroidered kurta-pyjama the Hindi film superstar wears in the film’s ‘Zohra Zabeen’ song.

The film will hit the screens on March 30, while Eid may be announced on March 31 or April 1, depending on the Moon’s sighting.

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Faheem of ‘SM Collections’ located in the Chitli Qabar area of Old Delhi, said an attire similar to the one Salman is seen wearing in the song has flown off the shelves within days.

Hallowed by the stardust as it were, the kurta-pyjama is being sold at a premium price of Rs 2,800, as against Rs 1,000-1,500, the usual price for this type of clothing.

Mohammad Salman, another shopkeeper from Matia Mahal of the same area, says the fabric of the kurta-pyjama with the Pakistani embroidery is also a rage. The fabric is made in Surat of Gujarat, but due to its embroidery it is known as ‘Pakistani’, he said.

The cloth is priced at anything between Rs 1,000-1,500 and is available in many colours and designs.

According to Islamic teachings, applying perfume, wearing clean clothes and dressing up well on the day of Eid is considered ‘Sunnah’ (tradition of Prophet Muhammad). Most Muslim men wear kurta-pyjama during the special namaz on Eid. This is the reason why different designs and varieties of this traditional dress dominate the markets around the festival.

Due to high demand, most tailors have stopped taking new orders for stitching, opening an opportunity for readymade kurta-pyjamas. Naveed, who runs a tailoring shop in Jafrabad, said, “We have to complete all the orders two days before Eid because we and our artisans also have to celebrate Eid.”

All the same, Raees Ahmed, who runs a tailoring shop in Maujpur’s Vijay Park area, is still taking new orders. Ahmed has employed seven more artisans, who are working 14 to 16 hours a day to complete orders. It takes about three hours to stitch a kurta-pyjama, he said.

Altamash, who runs an online and offline business of readymade kurtas and pyjamas in Jafrabad, said he is getting more than 120 online orders every day and has been selling 60-65 of them off his shop.