Designer Kunal Rawal shares how he picked up John Abraham's glasses for his role as Manya Surve in Shootout At Wadala from a pavement stall in Mumbai
Kunal Rawal made his debut at a Gen Next show during lakme Fashion Week and was one of the youngest designers featured there. He received attention because of interesting use of fabric. But after opening two stores and a few more fashion weeks, Kunal felt a need to try something different and turned to Bollywood.
Today, he is one of tinsel towns favourites. His client list includes names like Shahid Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan. “I wanted to work in diverse fields and Bollywood gave me the option to design for different characters.
I also wanted to be part of IPl and designed for the Rajasthan Royals,” informed the designer. Rawal created Shahid’s look in Teri Meri Kahani and is behind Anil Kapoor and John Abraham’s image in Shootout At Wadala. He’s also designing for Ranbir in Besharam.
“Today styling is an important aspect of films. Directors do the research. Then many meetings and discussions happen over a character’s look. Styling is more important with changing storylines. Today there are more films based on a certain period, bringing out personalities of characters we must have heard or read about. Every detail is taken care of. It’s just as tedious and time-consuming as it gets when designing a collection for any particular season.”
Sanjay Gupta gave him a detailed brief for John’s look in Shootout At Wadala. He used Amitabh Bachchan’s look from the Jumma Chumma De De song inHum and gave it to John for a song. “I read a lot about his character, Manya Surve and followed Sanjay’s research.
The feel is gritty and real. The film showcases the period from late 70s and early 80s which featured denim with flared bellbottoms that went narrower in the 80s. So for John’s denims, I cut down flare. He will be seen wearing cotton shirts.” He is shown as someone not too conscious of his look.
“I scanned the streets for perfect glasses. Thankfully I found them in a shop that sells old stuff. Kolhapuri were far chunkier during the 70s. These days they are light-weight and comfortable, so we got some designed.”
He had no fixed template for Ranbir’s look in Besharam. “I just recalled my carefree days in Delhi,” In one song the actor wears a three-layered suit. It’s a one piece deal that has been intelligently deconstructed to resemble layers.