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Modern style of draping Saree

These were made popular by the celebrities of Bollywood industry and other popular regional film industries like Kannada, Tamil and Telugu cinemas. For example, in the 1968 Bollywood film Brahmachari, Actress Mumtaz was seen in a Sharara saree flaunting her navel for a song and dance number ("Aaj kal tere mere"). Sharara is a long flowing pant like a divided skirt at bottom with a long blouse. The unique feature of the Sharara is the skirt which has less flow than lehenga. It is like a loose pant fitted till the knee, with a big flare from the knee onwards.
 
 
 
Different types of fabrics are used for sharara like rich tissue materials such as Crape, Satin, Chiffon, Georgette and Silk. It later became so popular that till date this type of saree is known to be Mumtaz sarees.
 
Recently in 2009, actress Priyanka Chopra appeared in a similar type "Mumtaz saree" and showed off her navel jewellery when she attended the premiere of her film What's Your Raashee at the Toronto International Film Festival.
 

Taking inspiration from their Bollywood counterparts, actors on the small screen are also concentrating on the glamor quotient of sarees on their TV shows. Producer Hemal Thakkar commented,"Fashion sense on TV has surely changed.The actors raise the oomph factor by showing off their curves, yet not showing too much skin, to avoid upsetting families – their main audience. Their pallus (front panel of the saree) are narrower and show off a lot more cleavage now. Blouses have more daring cuts and ample waist display is common." TV Actress Nia Sharma seen in Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai commented, "The style of wearing saris in films has become sexier, and it has trickled down to TV too. Being covered yet sexy is working on TV. This is a nice change."
 
Above mentioned modern sarees are mainly worn by rich and educated upper-class women. Wearing the saree below the navel doesn't always lead to exposing it, as the navel is covered with the pallu in a low-rise non-transparent saree. This style can be helpful for tall women for whom tying the saree above the navel might not be possible. The pallu helps in covering the navel. In Indian corporate culture, sarees are required to be worn in an elegant manner avoiding navel exposure.
 
Anita Gupta, Senior Vice-President at JWT Chennai commented,"Formal wear for women definitely covers saris without plunging necklines or glimpses of the belly button."
 
 
 
 
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