Sonam Kapoor in Anamika Khanna on the Cannes red carpet

Take us through a typical Sonam session...

Well, it’s the three of us — Sonam, her sister Rhea and me. The making of any garment between us is drama. Suddenly someone has an idea and the discussions begin. ‘Let’s make this na, let’s make that na...’ It just goes on and on. The great thing here is that the person I am dressing is a visionary. Her stylist (Rhea) is a visionary…

And her designer is also a visionary…

(Turning two shades pink) I know a little bit! Between the three of us we work well. Plus, the fact that when Sonam is saying something, I already see it in my head. Or vice versa. There is no confusion.

Typically how long does this drama last?

It never gets over. It goes on till the last minute.

Where did the idea of this Cannes sari germinate?

The idea was that since one day she was doing a gown, which is a very western thing to do, the next day we have to do something not so western. She couldn’t have gone out in two gowns. I was also of the opinion that even if she wears something western, there has to be a certain Indianness about it, otherwise how would she stand out? So it was decided that we would do something Indian. The research went deep into the traditional roots of India. But at the same time, we didn’t want her to be too traditional or tribal-esque. It had to be international and very modern, given the platform.

Then we came to colour. We went extreme — either we would go completely dark or completely neutral. Off-white was out since we already did that last year. We eliminated the jacket; we eliminated structure. It’s a red carpet, so we thought why not do a drape? We thought let’s show some skin, let’s go sexy. But then again showing skin in a sari can look tacky. Question was, how to make it elegant?

All those things went on and on and then it was time for the first fitting, followed by many more. The logistics were a nightmare. She in Mumbai, I am here. Trips to and fro were made, it was just chaos. But overall it was a great experience. The shoes used to be laid out. Jewellery from everywhere was pulled out. There were 30,000 things all over. Brainstorming continued. It was fun, not one of those ‘oh my god, you have to deliver a garment to an actor’ things. It was a real fun collaboration.

Let’s deconstruct the look...

It’s a sari but with a lot of modernity. It’s worn with a short blouse, almost like a choli.

There is a delicate sheer capelet on top. The sari is pre-stitched and she wears it with the dhoti pant. The colour is a beautiful blush pink because we wanted it to blend in with her skin. We wanted a trail but not the typical palla gone long. That’s very Devdas. It’s a delicate trail. It adds glamour. The bag is kept matching for this look. I love the idea of going monotone and I am dying for the whole country to go tone-on-tone. I am tired of seeing multi-coloured clothes! The hair is clean and pushed back. The most obvious thing was to tie it back so we decided not to do it. The necklace had to be chic and yet make a statement. It couldn’t be full of fuss and frill because there was already so much happening on the sari. I love the Jimmy Choo shoes. It looks like it’s a part of the outfit, it just seamlessly continues….

How does Sonam not look fat in organza?

Give us some credit! (Laughs) Organza was sewn in such a way that she wouldn’t look fat. But where’s the fat? She’s so tall and has that tiny waist. Sonam is so slim that there is no chance of her looking fat! I was in fact sitting and thinking that there is no one else who could do this look. With the Indianness and the modernity, so many layers, that cape and the sari and the dhoti, no one else could work it so well.

Coming to other actors, there’s a buzz that you refuse garments to many of them...

I don’t refuse. There are two or three things that I have to keep in mind. I don’t want actors to wear similar things. Each one will have an overdose and get bored very quickly!

Secondly, we also have a loyalty to someone, so we don’t chase other actors in that genre. It’s not like we refuse, but sometimes it just doesn’t work. Bollywood is always in a rush, and they want their clothes like yesterday! Basically, it’s just that I am not dying for anyone to wear me!

Finally before we end, recently you went through a major mess at the factory with some workers…. All sorted?

Yes, we went through something that was uncalled for. Something you don’t imagine will happen to you. I did feel betrayed in a really big way. I have always been in Calcutta and felt very proud of it. But things like this make you face realities and you know where you stand. I felt cheated and you lose faith. It did take a huge toll on me, but like how they say, whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Nowadays, I don’t feel like talking about it anymore. I have moved on.

Shradha Agarwal