Walk into any wedding-wear shop in India and the same handful of closed-neck garments go by half a dozen names. A jacket one tailor calls a bandhgala, another calls a Jodhpuri. A sleeveless jacket sold as a Nehru jacket is a bundi to one family and a Modi jacket to the next. The confusion is understandable, because these garments share one ancestry and one defining feature, the closed, standing collar. Where they differ is length, weight, construction and the occasions they suit, and choosing the wrong one is one of the most common reasons a groom’s outfit looks slightly off in photographs.
This guide sets out how the terms are generally used today, where each garment came from, how each should fit, and which one to wear to which function. Naming does vary by region and by tailor, so when you commission any of them, describe the length, collar and sleeves you want rather than relying on the label alone.
The Short Answer
| Garment | Length | Sleeves | Worn with | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherwani | Knee length or below | Full | Kurta, churidar or straight trousers, stole | Wedding ceremony, Nikah, Baraat |
| Achkan | Around the knee, close fitting | Full | Kurta, churidar | Formal ceremonies, the groom’s father, a lighter wedding look |
| Bandhgala | Hip length | Full | Trousers | Reception, engagement, formal evenings |
| Jodhpuri suit | Hip-length bandhgala as a suit | Full | Matching trousers or jodhpur breeches | Reception, sangeet, engagement, Baraat |
| Bundi (sold as Nehru or Modi jacket) | Waist to hip | None | Kurta or shirt | Haldi, Mehendi, poojas, festivals |
The quickest way to tell them apart is to look at length first and sleeves second. Anything below the knee is a sherwani or achkan. Anything ending at the hip with sleeves is a bandhgala or Jodhpuri. Anything without sleeves is a bundi, whatever the label says.
One Family Tree
All of these garments descend from long court coats. According to the history of the sherwani, the Persian chapkan was gradually given a more Indian form, the angarkha, and finally developed into the sherwani, which had buttons down the front following European fashion. The sherwani first appeared in Lucknow in the 1820s as court dress for the nobility of northern India, and was gradually adopted by royalty, aristocracy and then the wider population.
The bandhgala took the same closed collar and shortened the coat. The Jodhpuri suit is associated with the princely Jodhpur State, where by the nineteenth century the royal family had refined court tunics into a waist-length jacket practical for riding and polo. It was worn with tight breeches that became known the world over as jodhpurs, and it spread well beyond Rajasthan, including into Indian Railways uniforms in the late nineteenth century.
The Nehru jacket is a later branch. As a hip-length tailored coat with a mandarin collar, it was marketed under that name in Europe and America in the mid-1960s and picked up by musicians and entertainers later that decade. Nehru himself, as the Nehru jacket’s history records, preferred the longer, achkan-like coats rather than the shortened versions named after him. In India, meanwhile, the sleeveless jacket worn over a kurta, the bundi or sadri, is far older than either name attached to it today, a point ThePrint’s account of the Modi vest makes clearly.
The Sherwani
What it is
The sherwani is the longest and most ceremonial of the family: a structured coat that falls to the knee or below, fastened down the front, worn over a kurta with churidar or straight trousers. Today it is above all a wedding garment, and in Pakistan it is the national dress for men. Because it is long, it carries the most fabric and usually the most embroidery, which is why it reads as the groom’s garment in a room full of guests.
Fabric and embellishment
Sherwanis are made in silk brocade, raw or matka silk, jacquard and velvet. Embroidery ranges from restrained collar-and-cuff work to a fully worked body in Zardozi, Aari, resham thread or sequins. The more embroidery, the heavier and warmer the garment, and the longer it takes to make: a densely worked sherwani can involve several hundred artisan hours.
How it should fit
- Shoulders: cut to your actual shoulder slope. On a long, structured coat, an error at the shoulder shows all the way down the body.
- Closure: the button line should run straight and centred from collar to hem without pulling across the chest.
- Length: generally mid-thigh to just below the knee depending on height. Shorter men look taller with a slightly shorter sherwani.
- Sleeves: ending at the wrist bone, so the kurta sleeve beneath does not show.
- Ease: enough room to sit cross-legged at a ceremony and to eat without the closure straining.
Accessories finish the look: a safa with a kalgi, a stole or dupatta, a mala and mojaris. Our wedding sherwanis are patterned from 20 to 25 measurements with the embroidery worked in-house, which is what allows the motif to be drawn around the cut rather than the other way round.
The Achkan
Sources disagree on the precise relationship between achkan and sherwani, and some use the words interchangeably. The distinction most tailors draw today is one of weight and silhouette rather than a fixed measurement: the achkan is closer fitting, usually lighter in fabric and embellishment, and sits around the knee, while the sherwani is fuller, more layered and more ornate. Historically the achkan is associated with Hindu court dress and the sherwani with Muslim nobility, though both are now worn across communities.
That lighter, cleaner line makes the achkan a strong choice for the groom’s father and brothers, for a daytime or smaller wedding, or for a groom who wants a traditional long coat without heavy embroidery. In silk or fine wool with self-coloured buttons, it looks formal and dignified rather than festive.
The Bandhgala
Bandhgala simply means closed neck. The garment is a hip-length jacket with a mandarin collar, built like a suit jacket: a structured chest, a set-in sleeve and a clean shoulder. Without a lapel to soften the neckline or draw the eye, everything depends on the collar sitting against the neck without gaping and the closure running dead straight from throat to hem. That is why a well-cut bandhgala looks sharper than almost any other garment, and a badly cut one looks worse.
Bandhgalas are made in suiting wool, velvet, jacquard, raw silk and, for daytime, linen blends. Buttons change the character completely: covered buttons look minimal, metal or horn buttons look formal, and a brooch at the collar looks ceremonial. A bandhgala can be worn with a pocket square but never with a tie.
The Jodhpuri Suit
A Jodhpuri suit is a bandhgala worn as a suit, with matching or coordinating trousers. The traditional pairing is jodhpur breeches, fitted below the knee and worn with boots or juttis, which gives a heritage, equestrian look that suits a Baraat or palace venue. Slim tailored trousers make the same jacket modern and versatile enough for a reception or an office event afterwards; churidar pulls it towards ceremonial dress.
Because it works across so many functions, the Jodhpuri is often the best value piece in a wedding wardrobe. A solid or subtly textured one can be worn again at business dinners in a way a heavily embroidered sherwani cannot. At our studio, our bespoke Jodhpuri suit in Bangalore typically takes one to six weeks, with a trial fitting partway through construction so the collar and closure can be adjusted while changes are still straightforward. Browse our Jodhpuri suits in Bangalore lookbook to see completed raw silk and velvet commissions.
Nehru Jacket, Bundi and Modi Jacket
This is where the names cause the most confusion. Internationally, a Nehru jacket means a sleeved, hip-length coat with a mandarin collar, which is essentially a lighter bandhgala. In Indian shops, “Nehru jacket” almost always means the sleeveless jacket worn over a kurta, which is traditionally called a bundi or sadri. “Modi jacket” is a more recent popular name for the same sleeveless style, often cut slightly shorter, in matka or khadi silk and bright colours.
Whatever you call it, the sleeveless jacket has one job: to add structure and a second colour over a kurta without the weight of a full coat. It should end around the hip and be clearly shorter than the kurta beneath it, so the two layers read distinctly. It is the natural choice for Haldi, Mehendi, poojas and festivals, and one of the easiest ways to make a single kurta work across several events. See our guide to the Nehru jacket and the kurta and bundi sets we make.
