Going,Going, Gone

A new generation of Indians have acquired a sinful mindset that goes against what your mother believed in—used clothes buy stainless steel utensils. A few of these people have paid more than Rs 30,000 for what someone else wore. These are dissimilar Indians who are sprinkled down the road from Kolhapur to San Francisco via London, bound by a common weakness for Bombay's filmdom. They bid against each other in an admittedly uncrowded auction on the Internet, to buy an inscrutable industry's saris—wet or dry. Ornaments, posters, goggles, dresses too. Soon Shahrukh Khan's resurrected Enfield in Josh will go under the hammer for a minimum bid of Rs 1 lakh. The lowly Ashok Leyland bus which Sooraj Barjatya spent Rs 25 lakh on to accommodate the smiling characters of what some suspected to be the longest toothpaste ad ever made, Hum Saath Saath Hain, will be on offer at Rs 5 lakh.

This is the near future. The past few weeks have already taken delivery boys to strange quarters. Some of what Preity Zinta, Karisma Kapoor, Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai and even the near-extinct Bhagyashree wore in Farz, Chal Mere Bhai, Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge, Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke and Maine Pyaar Kiya have gone for bids as low as Rs 325 and as high as Rs 3,68,000.

Welcome to the world of Bollywood auctions. And the buyers are beginning to pour in. Take for example, Sharukh Irani, a theatre owner in Thane, who chose to buy a jacket this summer. By and large, only misguided youth wear jackets in Mumbai but Irani was smitten by a certain "look" Shahrukh wore in Badshaah. The jacket was priced at about Rs 7,000 on baazee.com, a popular buy-and-sell portal. But that was not the problem. It had a bullet hole, a feature far from being a usp for this practical man who wanted to have the jacket and wear it too, "on the streets". For a rich theatre owner in shady Mumbai, wearing a jacket with a bullet hole is like walking with a premonition. Irani shifted his gaze to other items. He bid for Shahrukh's goggles from Josh instead. They were going for Rs 2,000. "But someone outbid me. I didn't push. I think it went for Rs 2,200." Eventually, as a compromise between vanity and economy, he bid for villain Tinu Verma's inexplicable accessory in Mela—a menacing contraption that goes around the neck or waist. He bought it for Rs 2,100. Now he is eyeing more. "Some of the dresses Karisma Kapoor has worn in her recent films are beautiful. They are a bit expensive, in the range of Rs 15,000 to 20,000. But I think I will buy one for my wife sooner or later."

As for Kolhapur-based paint merchant Brijesh Sase, he couldn't afford many things that would remind him of his heart-throb Karisma Kapoor. But he did buy some limited edition posters and diary from the launch campaign of the film Chal Mere Bhai for Rs 2,050. Five of his friends pooled in the money. He is also the president of the local Karisma Kapoor fan club. "I plan to build a museum dedicated to Karisma soon and I will put these items on the wall."

The auction bug has bitten those across our shores too. Illinois-based businesswoman Chhaya Patel coughed up Rs 2 lakh to buy off clothes worn by stars in such films as Dhadkan, Tera Jadoo Chal Gaya, Hum Apke Hain Kaun, Gambler, Mela and Farz. (Her friends say Patel has an affinity to the wardrobe of Juhi Chawla and Manisha Koirala.) She and her sisters have been wearing these clothes during weddings and family functions. The money Patel sent was more than what was required but she added a note saying, "keep the rest".For she had future buys in mind: Patel plans to shell out another Rs 1 lakh for more such purchases. Then there is 30-year-old bank manager from San Francisco, Sapna Panchal. "I have bought Karisma's Rajasthani chania choli from Hum Saath Saath Hain for $300. I have also bought Karisma's purple chania choli from the movie Janwar, her black churidar with silver work, and mustard-blue churidar from Chal Mere Bhai, all for $200 each."

Lending dignity to gifting used clothes to the beloved is a part of baazee.com's business model. Not many wives will complain about wearing what Karisma wore "only once": most of the clothes are that 'fresh'. The website sources these items from the producers. In a simple arrangement, 70 per cent of the proceeds from the sale of memorabilia goes to the producer, the rest to the website. Baazee's channel that conducts all film-related auctioning was once an independent portal called bollywoodauction.com, floated by Siddharth Jain, a music company scion, a few months ago. It was later bought out by baazee. Jain, himself an inveterate collector of Bollywood memorabilia, still runs the channel for the website. He owns something that he says is very rare. It has to be, for what he has in his closet is Salman Khan's shirt. Jain also owns a black hat Aamir Khan wore in Mela. And it was through this hat that many people thought Jain was talking when he mooted the idea of selling used clothes and jewellery in online auctions. But, says he, "soon after I launched bollywoodauction.com last year, I myself was taken aback by the initial response. Forty to 50 items were sold in a month but the payment gateway was not in place then." Such auctions are also a boon for film producers. Says P.K. Gupta, general manager of Rajshri Productions: "Items that gather dust in the store room suddenly have value." For a highly niche channel, Bollywood Auction receives an impressive over 50 serious bidders every week. Some 40 per cent of the star memorabilia is sold with an average increase of 20 to 30 per cent over the starting price. Payment is through credit card, demand draft, cheque or bank transfer. Every item comes with an authenticity certificate from the producer or the production house. Gautam Thakar of baazee adds: "Three quarters of the bidders are from India. The rest are chiefly from the US and the UK. We have had some Indians in Australia and other countries bidding too. In the coming weeks we plan to aggressively market Bollywood Auction to nris in the US and the UK."

With an investment of $21 million, baazee is today surviving hard times and looks towards its star link to earn itself fame. Thematically similar portals, like bidorbuy. com and khuljasimsim.com do not have such a range of hot Bombay film memorabilia. Says Vikas Verma, ceo of khuljasimsim.com: "Bollywood-related auctions will be a good promotional exercise for us but I don't think we will have a dedicated channel like baazee's."

Meanwhile, the memorabilia fever looks like turning into a pandemic. Prashant Koorapati from Chennai bought three items from Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge, for his sister. Ankur Jetley from the US sent a gushing mail to baazee after buying Aishwarya Rai's lehenga from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. "I am enjoying the dress very much," he said. This is just a slip in the language. He is a straight, normal man, of course. But just like any delirious star-struck fan, when it comes to buying a piece of Bollywood takeaways, he lets down his guard a bit.