Costume Designer Amritha Ram on designing Kamal Haasan's look in 'Thug Life' - Exclusive

Costume decorator Amritha Ram has worked with Kamal Haasan connected aggregate projects, but Thug Life—directed by the legendary Mani Ratnam—offered a originative travel similar nary other. In this exclusive chat with ETimes, she opened up astir gathering the layered wardrobe for Kamal’s analyzable character, moving intimately with Mani Ratnam’s precise vision, and however the film’s aesthetics basal isolated from emblematic commercialized fare.

Excerpts...What was the astir breathtaking situation astir designing for Kamal Haasan successful Thug Life nether Mani Ratnam's direction?The reply to the question is successful the question itself. It’s conscionable 2 names. The full thought of moving successful a movie with these 2 names is the astir breathtaking part. It conscionable can’t get better.Were determination circumstantial inspirations oregon narratives that guided your designs?Yes, inspirations—a lot. Guidance was great. Mani sir guided maine done the full mode and I deliberation helium precisely knew what helium wanted.

He had a circumstantial aesthetic successful mind, and with that, it was conscionable truthful easy. This aesthetic is thing I emotion too. So erstwhile you ticker the film, you volition cognize that this is thing we’ve ne'er done before—something cipher truly does—because it's a small distant from the regular commercialized mode the main histrion oregon leader dresses.

So hats disconnected to Mani sir for going that way, and hats disconnected to Kamal sir. Of course, helium has ever done what others don’t do, and this volition decidedly beryllium 1 of them.

Can you stock insights into however Kamal Haasan’s character’s wardrobe evolved passim the film? How did you guarantee the costumes reflected his character’s journey?So with this film, I had 3 antithetic stages of his character, and each signifier was precise clear. The archetypal 1 was a precise young look—it was a 90s look. So we focused connected tones and everything, and it turned retired to enactment well.The 2nd and 3rd looks were precise important. You determination from the younger look to the middle-aged look wherever helium resides successful Delhi. We looked astatine what a thug would mostly deterioration successful Delhi. Mani sir was precise wide astir keeping it minimal—not over-exaggerating oregon adding excessively much.

He said Kamal sir’s quality speaks for itself. He’s an histrion who needs to beryllium kept perfectly minimalistic.So we added 1 signature watch. Back then, integer watches were truly fashionable and easy disposable successful the achromatic markets and bazaars, truthful we gave him a capsule integer watch—which you'll observe successful the 2nd look. Initially, helium wears a golden ticker that helium gifts to Mr Simbu. Then, aft helium gets backmost from jail, we spell with the integer ticker and a precise simple, understated khada.

Not the regular one, but thing somewhat similar—we kept it precise elemental and clean.Everything other is conscionable what you see—it each fell into place. The colour palettes were designed to beryllium precise neutral—white, beige, brown—and of course, midnight bluish and black. We utilized lukewarm and chill tones for that peculiar look, and hairsbreadth that went with it. Mani sir had adjacent fixed maine an illustration of however helium wanted everything other to look isolated from the clothes.How Mani sir works is—first I travel up with a costume board, past we beryllium and enactment connected it together. He picks what helium wants, and past we spell up and marque everything. Then we person a proceedings day—which is much than conscionable a proceedings day. It’s a time we finalize the looks. We effort everything connected Kamal sir, Mani sir takes pictures, and past we shortlist. There mightiness beryllium 1 much round, oregon we whitethorn extremity it there. By the clip we scope the shoot, we cognize precisely what we want.

Auditions and improvs are ever there, but astir of it is set—and if we request to bash thing extra, we cognize what that mightiness be.Look 3 follows the character’s travel completely. He’s successful Nepal, untamed—his beard grows bigger and wider. He grows his hairsbreadth agelong and textured. We tried a batch with the hair. For the aesthetic, we looked astatine what comes from Nepal. It had to beryllium understated but precise relaxed.I prepared a committee again, and sir went done it.

We had 2 days of sprout for this look. On the archetypal day, we made a acceptable of outfits, tried them out, and past the manager chose a bunch. We worked much connected those. For this look, we decided connected “no color”—you’ll spot greenish and black, and that’s astir it. It had to bespeak the mindset of the character.There was 1 much item we focused on: for a antheral who lives successful Delhi, who has ever worn elemental suits—shirts and trousers since his young age—to determination into this look, we didn’t privation thing excessively stylish.

We wanted thing appropriate. There’s adjacent a dialog successful the movie wherever his woman says, “Oh my god, is this new? Did you prime each this for me? This looks similar a costume for a movie.” That’s however profoundly it’s woven in. Everything fell into place.

It was a large process for me.Having worked extensively with Kamal Haasan crossed assorted projects, however would you picture your experience?Working with Kamal sir is—at the hazard of repeating myself—an implicit learning experience. He knows truthful overmuch astir everything. Again, I’m repeating myself—he knows everything astir fabric, textures, dyeing techniques, everything.If determination is simply a brief, he’ll springiness you truthful galore inputs due to the fact that he’s done truthful much. There’s thing helium hasn’t done—in presumption of precise fancy costumes to precise realistic ones. He’s done everything. So moving with him is simply a learning acquisition wherever you support improvising, and helium keeps improvising. You support learning from clip to time, and the learning conscionable keeps growing. It’s an astonishing acquisition I volition ever cherish.With the caller contention surrounding Kamal Haasan’s comments, bash you consciousness the sound has taken attraction distant from the film’s visuals and your originative work?As idiosyncratic who does purely originative work, I don’t springiness overmuch thought to thing extracurricular my field.

Once we decorativeness our work, we are done. The remainder is up to the squad to instrumentality it forward. I cognize this is simply a squad that puts capable accent connected everybody’s work. So I person thing to accidental astir it—I don’t deliberation it interferes with america oregon the scope of what we’re meant to get retired of this.Have you received immoderate nonstop feedback from audiences oregon taste commentators regarding the costumes successful Thug Life, particularly successful the discourse of the ongoing debates?From the promotions to the trailer release, radical loved the aesthetic. They thought it was thing new—a caller ocular that hadn’t been seen before. So I’ve lone received appreciation, and I don’t deliberation it concerns thing other different than conscionable the movie and the look. Yes, I’ve received a batch of appreciation, and I’m precise thankful for the film.