Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor to unite once again for Manish Malhotra at Mijwan fashion show

Come April 9, Manish Malhotra will complete nine years of association with Shabana Azmi-led NGO Mijwan Welfare Society, which funds the education and welfare of people of Mijwan, the ancestral village of legendary poet Kaifi Azmi. The NGO was founded by her late father.

Announcing his continued association, Manish posted an Instagram post, a collage of Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor in his clothes, and wrote: “#TheWalk of Mijwan #FashionShow...... 9 years of mijwan ... the journey ... #Muses...... the #fabulous #dapper #Charming #RanbirKapoor with the very #beautiful #stunning @deepikapadukone ... together for @mwsyouth @mmalhotraworld #mijwan #chikankari #womenempowerment @azmishabana18 @mantagoyal #manishmalhotraworld.”

He posted another picture of a cream-coloured cloth with delicate embroidery on it and wrote: “The Walk of Mijwan .... 9 years of @mwsyouth....., #journey ... #empoweringwomen #empowerment #chickankari #thread #embroderyart # #different #feminine #younger #mijwan #fashionshow #comingup ... @azmishabana18 @mantagoyal @mmalhotraworld.”

It may be recalled that Kaifi Azmi hailed from Mijwan, near Azamgarh in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Meanwhile, PVR has joined hands with the NGO and will soon screen a 60-second-long video which narrates the inspiring story about Mijwan before the national anthem is played, a press release issued said. Mijwan was launched with the goal of creating employment opportunities for the region’s women and reviving the art of chikankari embroidery. Manish has also collaborated with Azmi to provide work to the Mijwan artisans.

“My father believed that India’s remarkable economic progress can only be meaningful if it reaches rural India, where 80 per cent of the population lives, but is denied access to opportunity. His prophetic words have become my mantra in the work that I do with the weak and the dispossessed. When Kaifi saheb embarked on the journey alone, Mijwan (a village in Uttar Pradesh) did not even figure on the map of India. Today, Mijwan is known all over the world,” Azmi said in a statement.

Bollywood A-listers such as Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma and others have walked the ramp to support the cause of Mijwan in the past.

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