BENGALURU : Sreeleela as a Maratha empress, Deepika Das as a Rajput princess and Harshika Poonacha as a queen from a Dravidian dynasty... No this is not the plot of a multi-starrer historical drama but a peek into the new festive and wedding line of fashion designer and stylist Bhargavi Vikyathi. Her new collection, Navathaar, has been shot with nine Sandalwood beauties and oozes royal grandeur.
Other actors who are a part of the series are Shalini Gowda, Kavya Shetty, Nishvika Naidu, Krishitha Panda, Sampada Hulivana, and Kavya Shastry.
With bold colours and big motifs, the collection is bound to give one an extended festive feel. “My focus was to find out how Dasara is celebrated in different parts of the country, which eventually led to various royal families.
Since the whole month is about celebrating devis, I thought why not showcase the grandeur of the royal ladies,” says Vikyathi. Getting all the top actors on board has not been easy. From managing their time to the researching, the whole process took close to three months.
It might look like the work was cakewalk for the designer but research also involved choosing the right colour scheme and discussing the look with the actors. “I had given specific instructions to the make-up artist Nikitha Anand, who did a fabulous job. It was like directing a movie,” laughs Vikyathi, whose upcoming movie, Dear Sathya, where she has done the fashion direction, will be out in cinemas soon.
Not all the concepts, however, have the royal theme. In some, she has played with colours to show various celebrations. For instance, for Nishvika Naidu’s look, the 29-year-old designer dressed the actor in a multi-coloured contemporary ghagra choli.
The actor is seen posing with dandiya sticks. Sreeleela’s look also included props like a horse and a sword to bring out an empress feel. “Props instantly lift the series. It makes you live the part,” adds Vikyathi.
The designer’s phone has not stopped buzzing with complimentary messages. “When I teased the first look on my Instagram, everyone thought it was going to be a series on goddesses. But I am glad people are pleasantly surprised with what we have come out with,” Vikyathi says.