All your films have made a fashion impact. Is that deliberate or are you just a lucky hit machine?

(Laughing out loud) Not really! Honestly, there are very few films that I have refused. I began exactly five years ago and I am fortunate to have worked with the best directors, the best banners.... And such hot stars don’t hurt either! When you read the script, you have three months to begin shooting and two months to begin fittings so it is very important to give each film your best shot. I treat every film like my first film and give it my heart, my soul and all my passion. I guess that’s what ultimately shows. I am fortunate that my actors trust me and share a vibe and rapport with me. But honestly, it is all about hard work and destiny. It is the recipe for a perfect marriage!

This was your first with Katrina.

Yes and it was a lovely experience. The idea was to present a brand new Katrina Kaif, not the Katrina you have seen before in Ajab (Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani)… or Singh is Kinng or Welcome. In this film she plays a struggling B-grade actress so her look had to be a little kitsch, a little wannabe and she had to, had to look like a million bucks. She has various looks in the film.

I like the one where she is dangling with Akshay Kumar from a train. She is wearing a white peasant blouse, black corset belt and a 100m red ruffle skirt with black boots. In Wallah wallah, she is wearing a coral sharara with a net dupatta with silver work and the chand tika. That is my take on Mughal-E-Azam and Meena Kumari’s Bahu Begum. In the Bade dilwala song she wears these lovely mirror-work lehngas, one blue and the other white. It’s got everything — leheriya, lace, ruffles and the choli is very sexy: it’s got a lingerie vibe! The lehngas are knee-length, very villager-like.

Working with Katrina has been a rewarding experience.

But she isn’t a very stylish person; were you on the same page?

Well, Farah and I were on the same page right from the beginning. When she sounded off things to me I immediately knew the character had to be over the top! When we took the moodboard and the presentation to Katrina, she loved the look and feel of the character. She was really excited and said that if this is how we see the whole thing then she might as well go all out! She wears the skimpiest of cholis and not once looks uncomfortable. What you see in the songs is just one thing, the whole look of the film is fabulous. It’s all in sync and each look is such a strong statement.

Sheila ki jawani looks unbelievably good…

When you have the combination of Farah Khan and Katrina Kaif and Aki Narula, it has to look unbelievable, no?! You can’t get HOTTER than that! The first and foremost thing that came to my mind was that we had to beat Kajra re! And that is quite a high benchmark. Farah made me hear the first scratch of the song and then we went to Vishal-Shekhar’s studio. My brief from Farah was only to make Katrina look never-before-seen hot. She was going through this intense belly dancing workshop and all I knew was that she just had to sizzle and sizzle like never before. I worked on a couple of ideas and showed them to Farah who was very happy.

The headline of my storyboard was Chicago meets Bhojpuri! I knew I had to use the kashti, the Maharashtrian sari. In one clip, she wears this metallic hot pink choli with black bottom that was basically a mini kashti sari made in silk jersey. These pants are definitely the new gauchos or harems.

Then I have always been fascinated by men’s shirts on women, so we gave Katrina this oversized white shirt fully sheeted with transparent sequins. She wore them with black shorts, a tie and top hat. The red bandhni sari that she has worn was bought at the Thar station! We then used it with a red choli and another red sari was twisted like a rope to make the pallu! This is when she is dancing on the table with the men throwing water on her.

My other favourite look from the song is the gold one. This one is dedicated to Ursula Andress from Dr No. The gold dhoti pants have actually been cut like trousers. We kept her accessories fun too, there is a pearl maang tika and a chand tika. I think Katrina has done a fab job.

What about Akshay Kumar?

I have a long association with Akshay Kumar. He is playing a con man in the film and Farah and I decided he had to be the hottest thing around! For my research I went to Mohammed Ali Road, Pyedhonie and Byculla which are places like Calcutta’s Burrabazar and Gariahat and bought these printed saris for Rs 200! The shirts were stitched out of these saris! We then bought checked lungis from railway stations to make the shirts’ plackets and hoodies. He wears this badge on his bicep called Tees Maar Khan. He also wears these printed loud lycra ganjees under his shirts. I made him printed keds and a bagpack that, you will see, play an important role in the film.

I love combing flea markets across the world and it gives me the biggest high, much more exciting than shopping at Zara or the Armani at Emporio!

Akshay had tremendous faith in me and wasn’t interested in me showing him the clothes. I remember Farah and me going over to his place at 6am for fittings. I was so nervous I couldn’t sleep at night but when we showed him the clothes he was completely bowled over. Tina (Twinkle) was there too and she loved the clothes too. Then we stayed back for an aloo paratha breakfast!

In fact, once the shooting began it was hilarious on the sets with Akshay Kumar, Akshaye Khanna and me! Whenever Farah used to say Aki, both Akki (Akshay) and me would turn around! So ultimately Akshay was Akki, Akshaye was Akshu and I was Aku, and that was what my mom used to call me.

Akshay wears this cool key on his neck….

Yes, since he is a con man I thought he would like to collect a key as a memento. It’s like you keeping the first article you had ever written or me keeping the first kurta I had designed. I went to an old chaabiwala and asked him to show me a purana chaabi.... He also wears these cool Ray-bans. He has various looks in the film that change as the character graph evolves.

Then there is Salman Khan in a crazy printed shirt…

Yes, my first time with him. He is there in that one song (Wallah wallah), and Akshay and his look is co-ordinated, the same lycra ganjee and shirt. Shooting that song was a lot of fun and he told me one thing: ‘you are mad’! Then there is also Akshaye Khanna who plays a superstar in the film. He is spiffy and sophisticated — very True Religion meets Dolce & Gabbana — who descends from a helicopter!

The men in your movies have never been neglected (Don’s printed ties tucked into shirts, Dostana’s skimpy yellow trunks for John, Ranbir Kapoor’s casual cool style in Bachna Ae Haseeno…) Is it intentional or does it come naturally to you?

Neither, because I don’t even have to think about it. The men and women are on a par. In fact, it has always been ‘Oh my god, let’s see who looks hotter’! My hero always has to be hot whether he is Don, a con man or a corporate type!

Do you miss the madness of fashion week?

Honestly I don’t. I think it would be stupid of me to let go of Tees Maar Khan, Rockstar or Agent Vinod, the three films I am working in right now, for a season at fashion week. I can always go back to mainstream fashion but TMK would have just gone to someone else. My resume of the released films in the last four years is indeed a nightmare! (Laughs out loud)