{"id":13428,"date":"2011-10-01T12:22:55","date_gmt":"2011-10-01T12:22:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beta.tehelka.com\/?p=13428"},"modified":"2011-10-01T12:22:55","modified_gmt":"2011-10-01T12:22:55","slug":"how-to-dress-a-rockstar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/how-to-dress-a-rockstar\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Dress a Rockstar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aastha Atray Banan\u00a0<\/strong>meets\u00a0Aki Narula<\/strong>, the fashion designer who has given Bollywood a new fashion idiom<\/em>
\n

\"Aki<\/a>
The mentor<\/strong> Narula ponders during Lakm\u00e9 GenNext fittings
Photo: MS Gopal<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nBEFORE HE<\/strong>\u00a0began to shoot for\u00a0Rockstar,\u00a0<\/em>filmmaker Imtiaz Ali had been having nightmares of an unusual kind. He had been worried about the styling of his characters. Ali wanted a designer, who could be the \u201csoul of a filmmaker, and one whose clothes add a history to your story\u201d. The filmmaker soon realised that his vision could be brought to life by Aki Narula. \u201cRecently, I had an emotional chat with Aki and told him that his clothes made my characters believable. He pulls out things from thin air, without much cost, and dazzles you with his vision. Despite being so intensely involved in fashion, he hasn\u2019t lost interest in people, and that\u2019s super important,\u201d says Ali.
\nDesigning for\u00a0Rockstar<\/em>\u00a0was a day\u2019s work for the 41-year-old designer. The trailer has a young Ranbir Kapoor sporting the small-town denim-and-sweater combination and later, pathani-style kurtas with arm bands in his rockstar avatar. One can\u2019t miss the modesty with which Narula says, \u201cI dress the character in what the character can afford. Maybe the character has a pushy mother who buys his clothes \u2014 so I become that pushy mother.\u201d
\nBollywood styling also needs a pushy mother every now and then to raise the bar. With his simple yet hard-to-pull-off design aesthetic, Narula has played an important role in defining the new Bollywood chic, a contribution that has made him one of the most sought-after fashion designers in the industry. This explains a rather elaborate film calendar that includes forthcoming releases such as\u00a0Rockstar, Agent Vinod, Ladies vs Ricky Bahl,<\/em>\u00a0Barfee<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Housefull 2.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Rani<\/a>
Rani Mukerji in Bunty Aur Babli<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\n
\"Ranbir<\/a>
Ranbir Kapoor and Bipasha Basu in Bachna Ae Haseeno<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\n
\"Akshay<\/a>
Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif in Tees Maar Khan<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 
\nNarula, though, is no stranger to such popularity. He began his career as a fashion designer in Kolkata in 1994 and launched his own brand, Aki, in 1996. It was known for its unusual and out-of-the- box collections (in 2003, his models walked the ramp in ribbed shirts and embroidered underwear, and kissed each other). In 2000, he participated in Lakme India Fashion Week (a year after which his whole collection was lapped up by Selfridges UK) and, in 2002, he was appointed the design director at Sheetal Design Studio. By then, Bollywood had come calling. In 2005, he designed clothes for Yash Raj Films\u2019\u00a0Bunty Aur Babli<\/em>, a film that changed the way we saw Patiala salwars and kurtis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Ranbir<\/a>
Ranbir Kapoor in Rockstar<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\n
\"Amitabh<\/a>
Amitabh Bachchan in Jhoom Barabar Jhoom<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\n
\"Abhishek<\/a>
Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham in Dostana<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 
\nCut to present. As he sits in a Bandra caf\u00e9, sipping beer, his mind still seems to be ticking. A few minutes later, he tells hairstylist Sapna Bhavnani the vision he has for her mannequins at her salon. \u201cI think we should use that blue jumbo bags that all stylists use, the typical\u00a0theli\u00a0<\/em>to create an outfit.\u201d One wonders how a designer, who spots beauty in a blue plastic bag, can design for Bollywood where conforming to average glitter is often the only way to succeed. \u201cIt all depends on how you start. I did\u00a0Bunty Aur Babli<\/em>\u00a0because Aditya Chopra believed in me. He convinced people to work with me, and then actors realised that the out-of-the-box stuff I suggest does work. I bought fake Nike tees for Abhishek (Bachchan), and for Shah Rukh (Khan) in\u00a0Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi,<\/em>\u00a0I only shopped from Sarojini Nagar. But that\u2019s the way I see the character. And I am a fighter on the sets \u2014 there is no bling if it\u2019s not needed,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u2018Aditya Chopra convinced actors to work with me. They soon realised the out-of- the-box stuff does work. I\u2019m a fighter on the sets \u2014 there is no bling if it\u2019s not needed,\u2019 says Narula<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Although he won\u2019t conform, he admits keeping away from movies to protect one\u2019s art is a silly notion, one that could set limits to a designer\u2019s imagination. Anjana Sharma, head of Fashion, IMG, puts it succinctly, \u201cAki\u2019s edgy, and very real. He\u2019s not over the top. And that\u2019s why he works so well in Bollywood. He can cater to the masses very well.\u201d There is truth in that admiration: one does remember the tailors across the country busy stitching the patialas and tight shirt kurtis worn by Rani Mukerji in\u00a0Bunty Aur Babli<\/em>. With Kareena Kapoor in a lime green bikini in\u00a0Tashan<\/em>\u00a0and Priyanka Chopra in a disco-inspired silver mini in\u00a0Don,<\/em>\u00a0who can possibly deny that Narula has given us images that people won\u2019t forget in a hurry.
\nDoes that mean he has abandoned the fashion industry for Bollywood? \u201cThey are equally challenging. But if I have to design a line, I need to take three months off, and I don\u2019t have that kind of time. Maybe next year,\u201d he says. He did return to his roots this year as he agreed to play mentor to the Lakm\u00e9 GenNext designers. It\u2019s been two seasons now, and the shows have been touted as the best ever in the history of Lakm\u00e9 Fashion Week. Sharma says, \u201cHe is so young and child-like that the new designers don\u2019t get intimidated. And he pushes the boundaries for them.\u201d An evidence of this could be seen in this year\u2019s show where he choreographed designer Urmi Ghosh\u2019s show inspired by artist Pablo Picasso\u2019s muse Dora Maar, in which models walked like schizophrenic rag dolls. He also layered to perfection designer Mohammed Javed Khan\u2019s shabby chic collection. Khan says he was sceptical about Narula\u2019s methods at first but when he saw the final product, he knew it was going to be fine. Ghosh says, \u201cHe understood my thought process and brought it out in his choreography. He was also available the whole time I was designing the line. I could call him up in the dead of the night with my anxious thoughts. He became a friend.\u201d
\nFOR NARULA<\/strong>, being there for Ghosh at midnight is a way of giving back to the industry. As you watch him culling out the details meticulously and tirelessly at the dressing room, and then later at fashion week, standing by watching the GenNext models walk down the ramp, you realise fashion is a serious business for Narula. \u201cI had no formal training when I started. I learnt everything on the go. But people were supportive and I was appreciated. It\u2019s my time to give back. I love playing mentor because it excites me to see this kind of talent in India. It makes me believe in the future of fashion.\u201d But what about its current standing in international fashion? \u201cJapanese designers are big in Europe as they mix Japanese sensibilities with modern designs. They don\u2019t say: this is a kimono and now that\u2019s the design. Indian designers need to learn from that. I only see a handful of designers who sell well abroad, because Indians still can\u2019t do pr\u00eat. My question is \u2018what is so damn exciting about you?\u2019 Here, there is great fabric and finish but that just translates into great pricing. When will we do chic $10 tees?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Shah<\/a>
Shah Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra in Don<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\n
\"<\/a>
Narula styled Kareena Kapoor in Kambakkht Ishq<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor in Tashan<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The walk, though long, has been sweet so far for Narula. From being a child who would tell his mother which chiffon sari to wear with her pearls, a young adult who wore ties to meetings (he still can\u2019t believe he did) during his advertising phase to metamorphosing into a fashion maverick, Narula has come a full circle. To wear an Aki Narula, you have to think like Aki Narula. As Imtiaz Ali asserts, \u201cAki doesn\u2019t design clothes. He designs people.\u201d
\nAastha Atray Banan is a Senior Correspondent, Mumbai with Tehelka.<\/em>
\naastha@tehelka.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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