One is a “sweet person”. And the other loves her dessert. Celebrity jewellery designer Farah Khan Ali and actress Kalki Koechlin have come together for a jewellery collection. While Farah has created a line in 18-carat gold, inspired by ice cream — Magnum X Farah Khan — Kalki has been her muse for it. t2 caught up with the duo.
Kalki
A collection inspired by ice cream… sounds yum, doesn’t it?
It is pretty yummy! It is very appropriate for summer. The idea of things melting in your mouth or something sweet and pleasurable can be translated into jewels.
‘Taking pleasure seriously’ is the theme. Paint your perfect picture of pleasure for us.
(Laughs) I’ll take pleasure any way it comes. Pleasure for me is theatre, stage… being on stage, live, in front of an audience where the director has no authority on you any more. Now you are out there to surprise your audience any way you want. I love that.
What’s your kind of ice cream?
Hmm… I love dark chocolate… Magnum has great dark chocolate ice cream.
Do you have an all-time favourite ice cream pairing?
Warm apple pie and ice cream is my favourite.
What’s your favourite ice cream memory?
Growing up, I just loved ice cream. One of the best memories I had from when I was a kid is once we were in Delhi, doing all touristy stuff. In Connaught Place I had those creamy ones for the first time… do you call them gelato? I was like, this is unbelievable!
Have you ever been on an ice cream date?
I had been on a date where I ordered ice cream as my main course because I love desserts. I had ice cream with molten, hot chocolate cake and my date was a bit like ‘oh my god, what’s about this chick? She’s a bit cookie!’
A romantic film you are most likely to watch with a tub of your favourite ice cream…
When Harry Met Sally... and I could watch it over and over again. I’ll have it with a big tub of what (thinks)… salty, caramel ice cream.
If diet wasn’t an issue, what flavour would you gorge on every day?
Again, a dark chocolate ice cream. I don’t think diet is an issue. If you eat a little bit of something that you love, I think it is fine.
How are you keeping cool this summer?
Freezing in conference rooms… in the AC (laughs). I swim a lot. I drink a lot of nariyal pani, nimbu pani; I keep hydrated.
You are trying different things this year — from designing a line of bags to becoming a muse for ice cream-themed jewellery. What are you trying next?
I am going to speak Telugu. I am doing a film which is in three languages — Tamil, Hindi and Telugu. It’s called Haathi Mere Saathi and I have to learn some Telugu for it, that’s my big challenge.
An actor or an actress who comes to mind when we say…
Orange stick: Neha Dhupia
Choco bar: Bipasha Basu
Fruit ’n’ nut: Alia Bhatt
Farah
A jewellery collection inspired by ice cream! Now, that must be a first for you?
Yes, it is completely the first for me and it is one of the most exciting collaborations. I took Magnum’s artistry in creating decadent flavours of ice creams and I took the FK craftsmanship of shimmer, shine and sparkle and I put it all together to create beautiful pieces of jewellery that are ice cream-inspired. To do that, I also needed a muse. So I thought of Kalki because she is someone who embodies so much for me. She is real inside out, she is playful and it looks like she has many layers and they are sweet and beautiful.
How did you go about crafting the collection?
The process was an intricate one. I created six or seven pieces of jewellery that could be worn on a daily basis. One of the star pieces in this collection is the Magnum-inspired brooch that looks like as if someone has taken a bite of chocolate ice cream. I have taken the Magnum shape and created those layers in caramel enamel and brown diamonds. It is called Luscious and is very versatile because you can wear it as a brooch and also as a neckpiece.
I named every piece after a sensory pleasure because that’s the idea of the collection — ‘taking pleasure seriously’. There is a ring with two different Magnum ice creams put together, in different flavours. The big earrings I am wearing (in picture left) have the FK signature motif along with the Magnum-inspired chocolate diamonds; it’s called Tempt. There’s a hint of rose gold in the pieces.
Do you love ice creams?
I am a total chocoholic! I live chocolate… like I love design and live design. I can eat ice creams all year through. I love anything sweet. I am a sweet person! (Laughs)
Which ice cream comes to mind when we say…
Diamonds: Vanilla
Ruby: Strawberry
Emerald: I haven’t seen a green ice cream yet… it’ll probably be a sorbet
Saionee Chakraborty
