Kareena Kapoor Khan wore a 100-year-old diamond kalgi on her turban during Diwali. This royal heirloom once belonged to Hamidullah Khan, the last Nawab of Bhopal. It passed down through the family to Saif Ali Khan, who also wore the piece during his wedding to Kareena in October 2012.
This Kalgi came all the way from the Nawab of Bhopal, to Bebo's turban (Credit: Instagram, Reddit)
Diwali morning was a simple and quiet affair for Kareena Kapoor Khan as she spent the early hours with sister Karisma Kapoor, in the company of their parents Randhir Kapoor and Babita Kapoor, as well as Kareena's elder son, Taimur Ali Khan. However, by evening time she had transformed into one of her more experimental looks in recent times, serving equal parts luxe and festive. For how well it worked on Bebo, you don't need an analysis to identify the look as a Rhea Kapoor curation - and an aesthetic leaning the Begum should definitely consider keeping around for longer!
Bebo was a Vision in Balana
Kareena's pick for the night was a Puneet Balana number number with a flowing Kaftan-esque silhouette. The plush peach number carried a stiff but deep neckline as the grounding point with the rest of the volume falling off the shoulders in fluid pleats. The sense of ornamentation and that quintessential festive touch came from the real silver embroidery crowding the neck and dotting the rest of the fit. The layered emerald and diamond choker felt like a luxe rabbit hole in itself, though really, it was the pearl-draped turban in a matching hue that brought the whole thing together. The kalgi on it of course, is a separate chapter all together though we must first take a beat to appreciate how Kareena's smoky, kohl lined makeup never fails her.
The Kalgi was the Real Star of the Show
Hamidullah Khan was the last ruling Nawab of Bhopal. He had served as the honorary aide de camp to Edward, prince of Wales between 1921 to 1922. The three feathers of the Prince of Wales' heraldic badge stood fastened to this kalgi, now a generational heirloom. But how did the diamond clad piece of royal jewellery actually make its way to Kareena's turban? There's a long history of association there. Hamidullah understandably passed it down to his daughter Begum Sajida Sultan - and who is Sajida Sultan? But of course, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi's mother, making her Saif Ali Khan's grandmother.
How cherished and hallowed the family heirloom is, stands evident in the fact that Saif himself wore the kalgi with the feathers during his wedding to Kareena in October 2012. Come to think of it, their wedding looks were rather direct odes to Saif's family legacy, what with the Nawabi heir donning the kalgi and feathers and Kareena saying 'Qubool Hai' in a Bhopali joda originally worn by Sharmila Tagore in 1962 for her wedding, and previously by Begum Sajida Sultan in 1939 for hers.
Coming back to Kareena's Diwali night look, the kalgi managed to make its way out of Saif's heirloom reserves right on to the couture-coded, pearl-draped turban on her head - a befitting addition for Begum Bebo indeed.