<\/p><\/div><\/div> \t \tKilimanoor Palace. Photo: Special Arrangement<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n Highlighting the painter\u2019s wide-ranging influence, Thampuran said his work is deeply connected to fashion, jewellery, Indian cinema and even botanical studies. \u201cIn his works, he portrayed women from different regions such as Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh with distinct outfits and jewellery,\u201d he said. \u201cThe sarees and jewellery are so rich in colour and detail that designers often draw from his art, both knowingly and unknowingly. \u201cCharacters in films, costumes and jewellery used by them, architecture of an era, even the colour of soil and flowers seen on screen are influenced by his art,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Citing examples, he pointed to a saree inspired by a Ravi Varma painting created by a textile brand, reportedly sold for around \u20b950 lakh a few years ago. \u201cThis is the same influence that is reflected in what Karan Johar wore,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He also said jewellery collections at popular brands draw heavily from Ravi Varma\u2019s depiction of women and ornaments. \u201cHe painted jewellery differently for different women,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n Thampuran further said films such as Pazhassi Raja and Baahubali, along with television serials like Ramayana and Mahabharata, have been deeply influenced by Ravi Varma\u2019s visual style. He added that the makers of Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham had acknowledged drawing inspiration from the painter\u2019s works for their female characters.<\/p>\n He also recalled a cultural programme in Muscat, for which he composed the background score, where around 100 participants dressed as figures from Ravi Varma\u2019s paintings. \u201cHe is deeply embedded in the cultural and artistic psyche of the people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAs long as his art is not distorted or its essence undermined, any recreations are acceptable. In that sense, it is interesting to see people now using AI to bring his works to life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Speaking about the artist\u2019s legacy, Thampuran noted that Ravi Varma had set up a printing press in Lonavala using machines imported from Germany, making his art accessible to the common public.\u00a0<\/p>\n He added that Ravi Varma later sold the press, and a portion of the proceeds was given to Dadasaheb Phalke. \u201cIt took many more years and resources for Phalke to make films, but Raja Harishchandra, made after Ravi Varma\u2019s death, was deeply influenced by his art,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, fashion designer Stephy Xaviour said the Met Gala is a space where bold and often unconventional designs are showcased globally, sparking widespread discussion each year. She noted that this marked Karan Johar\u2019s Met Gala debut, where he wore a two-layered outfit designed by Manish Malhotra and styled by Eka Lakhani, incorporating elements inspired by Raja Ravi Varma\u2019s paintings.<\/p>\n Referring to an interview, she said Johar had expressed a desire to bring drama, reflective of his cinema, into his outfit. \u201cThe outfit is dramatically aesthetic. Designing is art, and art is always deeply embedded in culture. When he got the opportunity, he showcased an artist who is deeply rooted in our culture. This makes the Malayali and the designer in me proud,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cFashion is cyclical. I hope more paintings that are part of our culture begin trending in global fashion,\u201d she added. She also noted that stylist Eka Lakhani started off by designing clothes for the Malayalam film Urumi.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.onmanorama.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When Karan Johar stepped onto the global stage of the Met Gala this year, he didn\u2019t just make a fashion statement; he brought a slice of Kerala’s art legacy with him. He walked in wearing a vintage jacket swathed in an intricately patterned cape inspired by classics of Raja Ravi Varma like the \u2018Damayanti and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2405587,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[470105,470099,470101,470102,470097,470103,470093,470096,469290,470104,470095,470100,470094,470098,470106],"class_list":["post-2405586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-royalty","tag-artistic-representation-in-cinema","tag-bollywood-at-met-gala","tag-cultural-impact-of-art","tag-fashion-inspired-by-classical-art","tag-indian-art-in-fashion","tag-indian-designers-global-stage","tag-karan-johar-met-gala","tag-kerala-art-legacy","tag-manish-malhotra-met-gala","tag-met-gala-costume-history","tag-met-gala-fashion-art","tag-raja-ravi-varma-damayanti","tag-raja-ravi-varma-inspiration","tag-ravi-varma-painting-influence","tag-traditional-indian-motifs-in-design"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Karan-Johars-Met-Gala-wear-celebrates-Raja-Ravi-Varma-royal.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2405586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2405586"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2405586\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2405588,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2405586\/revisions\/2405588"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2405587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2405586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2405586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2405586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}