Genelia D’souza in Force

Southern Avenue girl Priyanjali Lahiri has given Genelia D’souza a whole new look in Force. The stylist lets t2 in on how the actress went from bubbly to bohemian.

What was the brief for Genelia’s look in Force?

Basically, when we met Nishikant (Kamat, director), he was quite clear about Maya’s (Genelia’s character in the film) look. Obviously, he wanted the sense of funk which comes with Genelia but at the same time, he wanted her to be more mature. He wanted her to have this very bohemian kind of an edge to her. We incorporated that in her dressing. We created a lot of drapes. We did the kohl eyes for her. We gave Genelia a look she has not worn before.

Was it difficult to mould her to this new look?

Oh, it is never too difficult to style her. She is absolutely versatile. Her face and body took to this look really well. There was never a point when we thought that we shouldn’t go ahead with something because it is not suiting her. She can carry peasant tops, saris, long skirts, kurtas and stoles...

Were there inputs from Genelia?

Genelia always has a clear idea about how she wants herself to be portrayed in the film. What Genelia pointed out quite correctly was to give her things that flow away from her a little bit in the form of stoles or long skirts because a lot of these shots in the film are going to be in slow motion... that leaves a lingering kind of a presence. So, there are a lot of stoles, long skirts, long dresses, saris.

A lot of her stuff we made ourselves, because of the colours we wanted. We shopped for a lot of countryside stuff. We layered a little bit... a short jacket, a scarf.

What’s your favourite look of Genelia in Force?

There is that one song that we did where she is in a red sari... she is looking lovely. She carries off red really well. Stunning!

You are also styling her in Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya. What is Genelia’s look in that film?

It is a north Indian film, set in Punjab. We are doing a lot of patialas and kurtis. Good fun!