Stylist Leepakshi Ellawadi on morphing the look of the Sultan actress in the film
In a scenario where most Bollywood stylistic experimentations appear synthesised from a cookie cutter format, stylist Leepakshi Ellawadi swears by her own unique ethos. The lady behind Anushka Sharma's spunky and devil-may-care look in Sultan likes to delve deeper into the character she's working on which comprises in-depth research.
She shares that Sultan was far from a run-off-the-mill project and required a different level of research, aesthetic and vision. "In fact, at the outset, the actress wasn't even finalised and we were working on looks of the film. We sourced and bought pieces without even knowing who it was for. I had bought things in two to three sizes and kept that as a buffer. The brief was of a gutsy wrestler and her ethnicity was Haryanavi. I did a lot of research, visual references and spoke to actual village women who lived that life. We went sourcing to Rohtak for the right kind of denim fits and stayed there for a week and observed women on roads. I wanted to understand how fashion percolates there. It turned out to be quite an interesting study as the gender gap was very thin and a lot of androgynous clothing was preferred - things like straight-fit tracksuits. Realising that clothing on screen was a challenge as I wanted to stick to the authenticity yet make it appealing."
The first day
She reminisces, "The first day with Anushka was amazing as she warmed up instantly even though I was a tad apprehensive. She told me, 'Make me what they actually wear...' In the entire film, she's worn three pairs of denims (of course we had duplicates) and there were five to six salwar kameezes, which she mixed and matched with different dupattas. Also, the clothing needed to radiate that worn out effect."
Anushka lived the character
"Anushka started living that character - she walked like her, and got into her skin. She was quite focused on getting her body right - she wrestled and worked out so much. I was smitten by her perseverance. She completely looked the character and half of my job was done. She looked beautiful, real and convincing as a character. Once I gave her a pair of new denims and she said no."
Anushka: Breath of fresh air
She adds, "Anushka is like a breath of fresh air and stays true to her character. Even though we had a glam song in the film but she didn't ask for Jimmy Choo or Louboutin. She discussed every minute aspect of her look with me."
Work philosophy
"I like to be completely in sync with my character. I end up having discussions and arguments about how one's got to stay true to the character and that's how the character becomes memorable. Usually most stylists don't understand the authenticity of the character and the actor's body type. I learnt that working with Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra in Mirziyan and Mohit Suri. In Ek Villain Shraddha Kapoor is a traveller on a budget and when she travels to Kanyakumari from Mumbai, I had to keep her budget constraint in mind. I don't just use stuff off the rack. On the other hand, in Bewakoofiyan, Sonam shops at Zara and Mango."
Fav stylist
"Dolly Ahluwalia and everything she does inspires me. I also like Arjun Bhasin."
On my wishlist
"I'd love to style Deepika Padukone as our sense of style is alike - always classy and dignified. I'l like to work with Ranveer Singh too as he's goofy and fun and experiments a lot."
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