Apart from, of course, being a perfect wife to practicing psychiatrist, Shyam Lulla and a loving mother to son, Siddharth and daughter, Nishka. A woman who has designed the likes of superstars Sridevi and Juhi Chawla and now Aishwarya Rai and Kareena Kapoor, was, once upon a time an unambitious girl who just liked to play with friends. And I hated studying and with great difficulty I completed my tenth. I was left with no option but get married. I was barely 16 then!

Neeta first designed costumes for Kimi Katkar and Bhanu Priya in Tamacha. Yash Chopra s Chandini and Aadmi Aur Apsara pushed Neeta Lulla into the limelight. Both the films had her designing outfits for the then numero uno, Sridevi. The best moment of my life was when I bagged the National Award for her clothes in Lamhe. When I got the news I was too stunned to react, she says excitedly. Soon there was a beeline of stars wanting her to design for them.

What does it require to be a good designer? Certainly not picking clothes off the rack, Neeta laughs. But at times designers even have to do that especially when you are asked to arrange clothes at a very short notice. It is very important for a designer to be extremely confident about what she imagines and designs. And you should let your work speak for yourself. That will make people sit up and notice you.

Apart from making costumes for films, Neeta Lulla runs a trousseau consultancy for potential clients and is also a lecturer at the S.N.D.T. University, Santacruz, where she teaches Fashion Coordination, a module of fashion designing. Ask her which of the above gives her the maximum satisfaction, Neeta practically replies, Designing clothes for films gives me an opportunity to showcase my talent as a designer. Interacting with student enables exchange ideas making it possible for me to learn new things. They are bubbling with ideas and come up with some of the most amazing ones.