India, Nov. 16 -- Mumbai's bespoke tailors have long built their reputations by dressing its leading men. Amitabh Bachchan often donned suits distinguished by the rakish 'Akbar cut'- after Kachins and Gabbana founder Akbar Shahpurwala - and Badasaab's Kishore Bajaj outfitted everyone from Sanjay Dutt to Mithun Chakraborty. Their contemporary Madhav Agasti, however, was always drawn to the villains. Across some 350 films, Agasti dressed a rogue's gallery of baddies, from Anupam Kher's Dr Dang to, most famously, Mogambo, brought to life by his friend and early advocate Amrish Puri.

"You couldn't do much with the heroes of the time. But the villains were always rich and powerful. I could give free rein to my imagination," says Agasti, who e...