Priyanka Chopra's image change is being scripted by designer Manish Malhotra

Kunal Kohli's upcoming film will see Priyanka Chopra metamorphosise from her current sexy, naughty look to a demure diva of the 1960s. To effect that change, star-designer Manish Malhotra has been roped in.

Says a source, "In her films lately Priyanka has been dressing up sexily and acting sassily. The aggressive, come-hither sensuality of her characters in Anjaana Anjaani and 7 Khoon Maaf has not gone down well with audiences.

Even when she played a single mother in Pyaar Impossible, she strolled around in shorts. Kunal Kohli and Manish Malhotra will make Priyanka turn coy and demure in her new role.

She will wear pastel salwar-kameez outfits a la Sadhana, clingy sarees and knotted cholis like Sharmila Tagore and ghagra-cholis like Mumtaz."

Designers Malhotra and Kunal Rawal are creating a 1960s look for Priyanka Chopra and Shahid Kapoor in Kohli's new film which is still untitled.

The love story will depict the lead pair in several looks, as their romance apparently occurs in various avatars. And the brief to the two designers is to avoid the Kaminey look at all costs.

Says a source, "It's a mad scramble to get the fashion of the 1960s on to celluloid without looking too retro or culture-specific. Kunal doesn't want Shahid and Priyanka to look regional or cultural-specific as they did in Kaminey. They have to be from the 1960s, but not stereotypically so."

A tall order. And one that designer Manish Malhotra is enjoying to the hilt. Says the designer, "The look we're working on is 1960s Mumbai. The film has three distinctive looks."

When asked if Chopra's look is modeled on Sharmila Tagore, Malhotra gets evasive. "For details you should ask Kunal. It will be the 1960s, but in the Manish Malhotra style. I'm a huge fan of that era's fashion and music and I've always favoured pastel shades from the 60s and 70s."

Adds Kohli, "I'm in awe of Manish Malhotra. The look that he's designing for Priyanka is something that has to be seen to be believed. Shahid had just eight scenes with Priyanka in Kaminey. And they were dynamite! Can you imagine what chemistry they will create when they're there throughout my film and in various avatars?"