Entertainment
Designer Rick Roy opens up on giving a makeover to Akshay Kumar in Gabbar is Back
Updated : Apr 25, 2015, 08:58 AM IST
In Gabbar is Back, Akshay sports long hair and a beard which is quite a departure from his other films like the recently released Baby. Designer and stylist Rick Roy who gave the Khiladi this dramatic transformation talks about the experience of working with the actor.
Non-starry persona
"Akshay Kumar is one of the most professional actors I've worked with. He's completely non-starry. He doesn't bring his star persona on sets. I have never seen him raise his voice or be mean to anyone. He's always jovial and happy. Even in a stressful situation you can walk up to him and discuss a problem and he'll sort it for you. There's something extremely human and polite about Akshay." Gabbar was Rick's second film with him in the last three years after Joker and he was more than happy to work with him.
The early hiccups
At the outset, Rick used to be super scared of Akshay when they shot Joker. "I would be a little paranoid in Joker. Sirish Kunder was extremely sweet and would tell me to calm down. He would say, 'Everything is happening smoothly and you look stressed'. Akshay one day called me and said, "Clothes are good and everything looks fine. Why do you always look so stressful? If you want to do films, you can't be so hyper else you'll get burn out. He was even nice back then," recalls Rick.
Akshay - the prankster
"He plays pranks on everybody. We had a continuity shirt and they were shooting in Pune and I didn't go to Pune. He called and said, "What is this? The shirt doesn't fit. Why are you not here?" I was like, "It's a continuity outfit."
Akshay never throws a fit and when someone as calm as him screams on the phone, you get even more scared. He said, "It's so hot. What can you do?"I said, "I'll get another one made in a softer fabric."
He started laughing, "Are you mad? I was kidding."
I was like, 'OMG. I was choking. I was about to cry.'
The new look
Gabbar's producer Shabina's brief was to ensure that AK looks totally different. "I don't want him to look like his off screen persona. I was itching for a look which wasn't played out before so I sat with her and discussed what all I could do to make him appear in a new light. There was a lot of discussion between me and Shabina and the director. Baby had just released and we wanted him to be far from that. He was very open to suggestion. He said, 'Don't worry I'll manage and grow beard. He grew his beard. We tried hair extension but they didn't work. He said, 'Don't put the extensions, I'll grow my hair and then you can style it. He was actually that devoted to the film. It was very hot and itchy and we were shooting action sequences in the sun. But he was really peaceful," shares Roy.
Akshay - dream to work with
"Akshay is a dream when it comes to clothes. He's very direction friendly. He understands the character and he'll never say, 'Get me a Dolce jacket.'
The character needed to look authentic and not high fashion. This was a film where the character was more important than clothes. I made sure that the textures and colours in the clothes were subtle and worked for the character rather than standing out. Akshay didn't have any inputs when it came to style but he told me during the fight sequences, 'when I am doing action scenes, make sure, when I am moving my legs and arms or hanging from the harness, clothes should allow movement.
He's so good with action that he understands exactly. He's very clued in with technicalities of action."
Utilitarian chic for Gabbar
"Gabbar is somebody who is not bothered about what he wears. Clothes are the last thing on his mind. He's doing what he does. He's someone who's picked up a bunch of clothes because he's comfortable wearing them. In the morning when he gets up, he just puts something on. We did hoodies, linen shirts with hoods. I had to keep everything subtle and nothing which craves attention. The whole idea was to blend in with the frames of the film. I wanted it to look effortless and not put together at all. He's Akshay Kumar and adds his own persona to his clothes," he signs off.