Stylist and Designer Amritha Ram in an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama opened up about her experience while working with actor Kamal Hasaan in Kalki 2898 AD, Indian 2 and Thug Life. During the interview Amritha spoke about the inspiration behind the different looks in the three projects, the challenges that were thrown across the process, different aesthetic that influenced her while styling and designing and many more.
EXCLUSIVE: Amritha Ram opens up about her experience of styling and designing for Kamal Haasan in three different projects
How would you describe your experience while working with Kamal Haasan?
Well, when you have somebody like Kamal sir as performer, actor and you have director Mani Ratnam sir, that’s about it, you know, they give you everything you need. Yes, the timelines for the promo were crazy and then we did multiple options, and we did one fitting and then, you know, we were shuttling back and forth because we used a lot of deconstruction and that team for me was in Mumbai.
So, there was one assistant of mine who didn’t like sleep for three nights continuously because day he used to come here, we used to do fittings, we used to show it to the director and then take all the changes and then rework on it and go back that night, sit and work with the team and then bring it back next morning. So, this went on back and forth for three days but it’s all worth it when you see your work on screen. I mean translate to that and you just can’t do anything less. It’s like an opportunity of a lifetime for whoever it is, for every single person on that set to be experiencing the magic of the craft with these two magicians. So, you just could not do less. Yeah, we had like multiple pointers apart from the brief and then finally the director zeroed in on that look.
Supreme Yaskin has a unique look, what was the process of putting together that look and how much time did it take for him to put it together during shoots?
Supreme Yaskin was something that was completely conceived by the director. We were just working on how to put it together and yeah he had everything very clearly in mind on how he wanted the look and how he wanted the elements and what kind of fabric he wanted and he had a reason behind it and how he wanted them dyed in terms of you know getting that putting the colour and texture together and the fall because as you see in the movie you know he’s suspended in air and then he flies. So, we wanted the costume to work in all ways, we wanted the costume the fabric to go with the flow the fabric which had fluidity or fabric that could you know fly with the wind, and you know give it a its own dimension. So all these were what we worked as far as Yaskin was concerned and yes as always close to three hours because it had prosthetic and yeah putting the rest together.
In Indian 2, Kamal Haasan is playing a role of much older man, what kind of look have you given him the film?
Indian 2 for the much older man what kind of look, no, what kind of looks, you all must have seen the trailer. Well, he has a lot of looks, a couple of them, you know, we, with the director’s direction, made sure that it’s like, it looks like one goes into another and depending on the situation. Like I said, you know, it all depends on what is this character doing, when and how, all these films. So, yeah, and the director, once again, you know, he clearly knew what he wanted. And then, as you know, Shankar sir, also, he thinks very big, very accurately, and he has visualized this character, he has closed this character in his mind. So, it’s about understanding and putting it together. So, that’s the challenge always a stylist faces, you know, you try to bring the vision of the director, the actor, the DOP, everyone together, you know, you bring it together and present it as one.
What was the key inspiration behind Kamal Haasan’s look in Thug Life?
The key inspiration to Kamal sir’s look in Thug Life is all the inputs, Mani sir gave me and Kamal sir gave me, so it’s all about. Then it comes together, you know, they set it up in such a way that with the narration of scenes and with, putting the character together, and when it comes from these two magicians, you know, it will just form in front of you. And so, these are the inspiration, these two people and their, the way they put it together, the narration and the character bio. And when you do, as like I mentioned before, you know, we do this whole look test and then I always keep like tons and tons of options because, you know, that’s when you get one day’s time of Mani sir and Kamal sir together. So, for me, I’m like, you know, you better not waste it.
You get it done in one day, and just so it doesn’t move on to the second day and you make it worth their while. So, we try out multiple options, and then there’s just that one thing that, the director locks, the actor likes, and we go ahead. So, it’s a very exciting process, It’s a very creative process and I think that’s why I don’t mind working 20 hours a day, 18 hours a day, because this is what I love to do and, yeah, it’s a dream to be able to do what you want to do.
What aspects of personality or the role played by Kamal Haasan were you aiming to reflect through the outfits?
It’s like it’s overall, the person you know we are always given a character bio apart from the narration and the character bio is basically about who he is, where he is from, what he does and how he thinks. So, all this puts together needs to come not in a very elaborated format, depending on the film and the director’s vision, but they have to come together, when you look at this person. Sometimes something as small as a watch he wears make makes a huge difference. So, yeah, that’s that.
What was the most challenging part while putting the outfits together?
Like I said, I repeated this a couple of times, I talk so much that one question I answer several answers. The only challenge we faced was time and, yeah, the shuttling constant shuttling between Chennai and Mumbai because that part of my team is in Mumbai. Time was the biggest challenge, nothing else I mean with, like, when you really want to do it, you will do it. And when you actually know how to go about it like I said in previous answer to you, you will have to know to tweak it and tweak it right then to however the director wants it because it’s his vision in the bigger picture and make it work in terms of fit, in terms of comfort in terms of movement for the actor.
What detail stood out the most to you and were there trends that influenced you while styling or designing the outfits?
I think with respect to the theme or the concept, it was more or less a fusion and it had a lot of elements that involved, I would say, the Japanese aesthetic, the martial art aesthetic and then. As you see in the Indian teaser, we have done a couple of martial arts and looks along those lines. So, we wanted to keep it very different and, yeah, the aesthetics were very, very fluid, contemporary, fusion. The director wanted a lot of texture and, well, it had to be constructed in a deconstructed pattern and it had to look very different, it had to facilitate movement.
As you see the promos, like high octane action promo, so there was so much of movement and above all, it had to work in a way. Of course, you know, a costume, there’s like two different, you know, one is like you costume it very realistically and then you go towards that soon. And the other one is like perfectly costuming it with the brief, but yet have something relatable, you know, when you’re working on the bigger picture. So, yeah, it was extremely interesting.
I love costuming because I studied in FIT and for me, we’ve done a lot of costuming for theatre and plays. So, it’s very dramatic when it comes to that, so, we just had to find that balance, that middle line and work on it, and, yes, all my experience of working there, yeah, it comes together. It’s really challenging and then, you know, when you go and stand in front of them, they know everything, they’ve done everything, the two of them. So, you just make sure that you have tuned yourself in such a way that you will be able to add, delete, change whatever you’ve made in no time. And when I say no time, it’s actually no time, but that’s the first lesson you learn working in the film industry. A turnaround time should be like absolutely nothing and you can’t complain having worked for so many years and especially this film, you just can’t complain. You’ve gotten the opportunity and there’s no way you can do anything less than the best.
Also Read: STYLIST SPOTLIGHT: Meet Amritha Ram who curates looks for legendary Kamal Haasan for Bigg Boss 4 Tamil
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