Bollywood Adda

Life is supposedly one long party when you’re based in Miami. Aki Narula, however, discovered that life on pristine beaches can also mean a lot of hard work. The designer, who has dressed up actors John Abraham, Abhishek Bachchan, Bobby Deol and a handful of others (only Priyanka Chopra’s costumes have been done by Manish Malhotra) for Tarun Mansukhani’s film ‘Dostana’ that releases this Friday, got his brief for the film approved in half an hour, when he met the director and producer Karan Johar in Mumbai last November.
But when he landed in Miami for a recce in early January, he knew he was in for a mad ride. “There’s a very Cuban, Mexican feel to Miami, particularly with its cosmopolitan crowd, its white sands and clear blue skies. Since the characters in the film are based there, imbibing the local culture was important. Translating that mood to clothes was quite a task,” he says.

In the movie, Abraham plays a fashion photographer and Bachchan a male nurse, while Bobby Deol is an urban sophisticate. So while Deol goes around in more formal clothing— slim Louis Vuitton suits and Dolce Gabbana jackets, the other two have a more casual style.

“Choosing clothes for John was easy. He’s in shorts for most of the movie and all you ladies are in for a treat with his toned body on display,” smiles Aki. “I gave him a lot of tees with social messages on them. I made Abhishek wear all sorts of bright colours, from oranges to greens to reds and pinks with low-waisted jeans and cargo pants,” says Narula, who has been styling for Bachchan junior since his Bunty Aur Babli days.

In fact, Narula experimented a fair bit with Bachchan’s outfit, apart from making him wear colour. “Even though this movie is aimed for an urban crowd, I always believe that a trend should be able to cut across masses, like the shirt kurtis in Bunty Aur Babli that became such a rage after the movie.”

“Most of the shirts that Abhishek wears in ‘Dostana’ have collars that are 30 inches long, and reach his knees. A friend of mine was telling me he has already seen replicas on Carter Road!” says Narula. Shooting was a whole lot of fun too. “John would be ready in a jiffy while the other two took their time getting dressed for the shot. So John would laugh his head off all the while and irritate them," he grins.

Post Dostana, Narula’s appointment diary is choc-a-bloc with assignments. Up next is Aditya Chopra’s Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, and Renzil D’ silva’s debut film with Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Viveik Oberoi. He is also doing the costumes for Kareena Kapoor for her next project, ‘Kambaqt Ishq’. For now though, look out for the dandies.

source:screenindia.com