Amritha Ram is a famous celebrity stylist and costume designer. She is styling Mr. Kamal Haasan for Bigg Boss Tamil (launched on 3rd October) and Shruti Haasan for Salaar. Also, Kamal Haasan will be launching his clothing brand soon which he has designed along with Amritha. She has worked with stars like, Mr.Kamal Haasan, Shruti Haasan, Dhanush, Dulquer Salmaan ,Vikram ,Nithya Menon, Tamannaah, Aishwarya Rajesh, Andrea Jeremiah ,Ramya Krishnan ,Devi Sri Prasad ,Rakul Preet ,Jiiva, Pooja Hegde(did her first film in the south ) Sidharth (Rang De Basanti) ,Radhika Sarathkumar ,Nadiya, and many more. In an exclusive conversation with Bollywood Hungama, Amritha spoke about her styling sensibilities, working with south celebs, and Kamal Haasan’s clothing brand.
What motivated you to take designing and styling as a career?
Honestly, I had these instincts way back. My maternal grandparents are from a small village called Damil near Kanjeevaram where silk sarees are made. I have always had a strong connection with silk because they were into weaving silk. We had the privilege of getting our own colour combinations woven as children. As far as I can remember, when
When I was around 10-years-old, I had a very strange combination like mercury and mauve. My mom called it mercury. I demanded a mauve and coffee brown Pattu Pavadai which is a traditional silk skirt. My mom got it woven for me and since then I always got my combinations woven for myself. I was an anchor back then because I loved talking. There was a need for a person to be associated with a television show. I tied myself in that and it was so much fun curating all the pieces together. And I have always enjoyed shopping and I think, it was all there. And after Crush, Daham Daham, I realised that if my career in this field needs to take shape, I need to be professionally trained.
Since every person has a different sense of style and individuality, how do you keep it unique for all?
For me, it differs with each person. With movies it's different and for an event it is completely different. For an event, you can have your personality come out and add your dash to it. But for a movie, you have a character sketch, you have your parameters. The DoP is going to tell you what colours and textures they need, what time of the day the outfit is required for, what weather, what fabric? It is the director's vision that has to be brought to life when working in movies. I bring in my own element within the parameters set by the director. But when styling outside of it, I love styling for events and editorials, because it is your personality that comes out. It is very different for everyone, it is different for Shruti (Hassan), different for Kamal Sir, different for Nithya Menon or even Dulquer. As for Nithya, she likes to keep it simple, stylish and she loves being comfortable. But for Shruti, style is very important, keeping up with trends, retaining her goth element. With Dulquer, it is easier- I try to keep it snazzy. He generally has his own shoe and hat collection so it is easy going. I love my profession because there's so much going on, with each actor, each event, each movie- it varies. You are constantly thinking and trying to create something. My bottom line is high street with a dash of luxury and I love Boho. Everyone teases me about how I always add a boho element, even with Kamal Sir, I sneak it into the wardrobe somehow. And I love the New York style, mainly Soho because I started out there.
How much of your sensibilities and style do you retain while styling others?
It depends on what it is! With Shruti, I have tried out so much. She loves it all black and goth but then we put her in a hot pink one where she was going for an inauguration for a store opening and it was a morning event. For a Filmfare event, we put her in a really bright yellow piece and she had her moment when she sent me a picture asking me whether she really had to wear that (laughs). I try to do as much as possible. With Kamal Sir, I always try putting my opinions forward, I am not someone who can hide behind a curtain without having a say at all. I am not a very rigid person, I can conform and I like going with the flow. Sometimes, I add my touch and other times, I give in because actors can be very convincing. And you have to be open to accepting their say and letting them decide because they are the ones sporting it. I am very easy with it. I love taking ideas and then adding a little bit of my element. Everyone that I have worked with Kamal sir, Ravi Varman sir, I learn and pick up things from everyone. I maintain my fluidity and keep it balanced and it is very important for an artist.
Are you a follower of trends or do you like being old school and classic?
It is an even mix of both. It needs to be a heavy mix of both. Keeping up with the trends is very important because then you don't want your actor to be left out in the race. Today with social media, there is a rating for everything and there is so much pressure. So, keeping up with the trends, it is inevitable. But classics are beautiful, I love my basics, especially Victorian. Shruti (Haasan) and I did a whole Victorian Goth series during the lockdown over zoom. We did it in the middle of the pandemic, I was in Chennai and she was in Hyderabad. Classics are always a staple. When I am doing a saree look, I leave it on its own. I don't do much with sarees. You cannot add too much to it and deconstruct it. I leave it by itself and add a tiny dash to make it stand out. When I see a lot of advertisements, silk sarees and the draping is crazy- they just have worked so hard to arrive there but I don't relate to it. I strongly believe that it is beautiful by itself and it should be left alone. Call it old school but when it comes to certain elements, I love to keep it intact.
You have worked with Kamal Haasan, who has had a very distinct style when it comes to his onscreen persona. How was it working with him on Bigg Boss?
It was amazing! I was very nervous. For the first season, I was not here, I was travelling, I set up everything here and was travelling for something else. Hence, I tried playing it safe. For me as a stylist, understanding the person, their personality helps me work better. And I am people’s person, I make friends with a snap of a finger. I need to get along with the person to truly understand the vibe. With Kamal Sir, once we struck the chord, from there, we took it very nicely. Last season was a lot of fun and Shruti also calls me up and gives her opinion with “Appa is looking like that and Appa is looking like this!” It has been a lot of fun and coming from Shruti, she is very critical. But all his fans, his daughters, his family, I love receiving feedback from them because they know him so well. With Sir, on several occasions, he actually constructs a look without even knowing, he has actually done it. He gives his ideas and it is all done. I started a page on Instagram called ‘The Style Manifest’. Kamal sir has a body of work and style and he has experimented with styles and looks before we even had social media or anything. So on the page, I speak to him and decode all the looks and we discuss in detail what went on behind the look, the idea and inspiration and all of it. Attaching a visual to what you want to do is very difficult. To realise what you see and put it with a character is very difficult. This time, we are going all out with his style for Bigg Boss, there is a complete beaten down leather look. I am so excited and I have my fingers crossed. I have kept it classic with him but this time around we just broke all out and made it.
Kamal Haasan will be launching his own brand soon. What can you tell us about his brand values, his target audience and what are his expectations and how did you go about designing the clothes?
This entire process has been very collaborative. I was travelling to Hyderabad once and I had to create a look but it got delayed and a lot happened so the idea was almost extinct. I had to make do of whatever I had. We were shooting near Andhra Pradesh and I came across the Khaddar fabric and I tried to design it and made it Ombre to add some drama because, you cannot keep it plain. I got it stitched and I showed it to Kamal Sir and he was astonished- he could not believe it was Khaddar. Because he has a history, his father was a lawyer and he used to make his coats in Khaddar back then. For me, Indian Fabrics are very special because every region has a fabric, every region has a print, every region has a special karigari. After he wore it, people couldn't even believe it was Khaddar. We did a couple looks and we thought we should do something because the fabric has so much potential. Because the industry is massive and a lot goes on behind the scenes, the packaging, reinventing. And he was ready, he announced it, we put it out, made a logo and it was all there. Everything happens for a reason again, we are going to launch Kamal Haasan house of Khaddar in the USA in November, in Chicago. For us our dream was to take this fabric global and what better than this. It is very exciting for both of us, starting a brand is very special, it gives you purpose. And for me being a student from New York, a student of FIT and taking a fabirc from India there makes me very happy. And when fashion is used as a medium to make a statement and create a bridge is a phenomenon. And Khadi is so special, it is a great feeling.
What’s the biggest challenge as a stylist?
My biggest challenge was working for Director Vetrimaaran’s Vada Chennai. I always wanted to do the film, I told him, don't undermine me just because I studied in FIT. He asked me to go for it. It was very challenging because it was a film about real people and it is a very sensitive topic. And there was no referential material, like when you do a historic film, you find reference. But this film is about a group of people, who are from a very small place called Vada Chennai which basically means North Chennai. It is about people there, what they did, how they lived and we did 3 periods, 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s. And he told me what he does not want. He said he wants to keep it realistic and with no filmy element. I learnt so much, post FIT, that was just learning. I have stayed up all night printing shirts, styling, designing, painting, finding new techniques. It was not painful at all, it was pure happiness because it was a brilliant learning experience, it added so many layers to me. Today, I confidently took up something like this. And it only comes from learning with great people like Vetrimaaran Sir. Even with Kamal sir, it is challenging, everytime, I go for a fitting I have cold feet, I just don’t show it! I love the process of creating real people in movies and then styling outside. I would never drop one for another.
Out of all the celebrities you have worked with, who has been the easiest and fun to collaborate with?
Everyone in their way. But easiest and fun would be Shruti. I did Kamal Sir, Shruti, Dulquer, Nithya, Parvathy. They are all fun. I try to capture their style. But Nithya, the two of us, had not met at all, she was in Bangalore, I was in Chennai and she was shooting at a place, where there was no network even but I said, ‘Nithya send me a voice note and describe to me what you expect’ and I went and looked up everything. I etched out something, took 10 garments and she was elated. And honesty, nothing is easy. You have to do your homework, because then you have aligned with their style and perspective. I am not trying to be philosophical but it is what it is. Pooja Hegde and I did her first movie together and then we met recently where she was shooting and we reminisced. And I believe if you try to keep someone comfortable, everyone is easy and fun.
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