Taking a cue from actress Tnusree C’s recent release, Abar Bochhor Koori Pore, The Telegraph picked up two popular fashion trends from 20 years ago that made a contemporary comeback, exploring it through looks ‘then’ and ‘now’. Post-shoot at JW Marriott Kolkata, the actress engaged in a candid chat with us, talking about things then, now and more. Excerpts:
Would you consider yourself a fashion-conscious person 20 years ago?
Absolutely not. I am still not conscious. I am very lazy in that sense.
But has anything changed in the way you approach fashion and style now?
Of course. I have grown as a person. I was not an actress at that point of time. But one thing remains unchanged, I used to not follow trends back then and I don’t do it now.
Did you imagine yourself in this profession 20 years back?
No, I never had such a vision. I thought I would probably be a teacher or something.
For the contemporary denim look, Tnusree dressed a la mode in a spiffy oversized denim jacket detailed with fringes from Fashion Reboot by Karan Goyal, styled with a belt. The hair was worn open, with minimal make-up, in keeping with contemporary trends.
Do you have any favourite style from two decades back that you were obsessed with back then?
Bandanas, and I had used it for my films too later. I used to love wearing them.
Is there anything you miss most about the person you were 20 years back?
I used to never do any make-up. I miss that. Now, I have to do make-up even if I am going for a meeting, I have to do a little bit of touch-up. I don’t like to do so much make-up. Earlier, I used to not take so long to get ready. I miss that.
The story of Abar Bochhor Koori Pore is woven around nostalgia. What are some of the things from two decades back that evoke nostalgia in you?
Oh, there are lots of things! In the film we have kept all of these too. People didn’t know how to take a selfie then but there were small Polaroid cameras with which they used to try, we used to have load-shedding too, that I don’t miss but we kept in the film. We used to meet people for adda in those days but now we engage in adda mostly over call. Now if all the friends want to get together, we have to do a reunion. Like we showed in the film.
Tnusree cut a pretty frame in a multi-colour subtle metallic satin dress from Zara for a contemporary look. The hair tied into a short pony was accessorised with scarf rubber band from Trink Box by NGB. Pink lips accentuated the look.
Nila’s character in Abar Bochhor Koori Pore is shown through a vast transformation in the film and you play it in a very subtle manner.What did you enjoy most about playing Nila?
How she has transformed is not important but she has transformed and now Nila is so busy that she doesn’t have an identity of her own. There are so many women who live like this, their identities are lost in the family. I enjoyed playing this change, handling the naughty kids and many other things. This character connects to the mass. It is very flesh and blood. Everybody can connect with Nila. There were a lot of details involved in playing this character. Playing such simple characters is tougher. We need to go through a lot of details and that’s very challenging. Thanks to Srimanta (Senguptta), the director. He is a perfectionist. He made it easy for me.
You have worked with Abir Chatterjee and Rudranil Ghosh before. How was it working in this team, along with Arpita Chatterjee?
I have worked with Rudra and Abir before and all three of them are very easy to work with and we had a lot of fun. It was very cold when we were shooting for the film and we couldn’t even say our dialogues. It happened many times that while working on a shot we used to all reminisce about our childhood days and such moments were fun, like the shot at Trincas.
For the Y2K metal trend look, Tnusree posed charming in a lustrous lavender co-ord set featuring a quarter-length pair of slim-fit pants and a long noodle-strap top from Couche. It is accessorised with a pearl neckpiece from Lashkara by Ritu Dhingra, worn as a bracelet on the hand. The hair tied into a high ponytail, dramatic glittery eyes and semi nude lips complete the look.
Did you carry home anything from Nila’s character?
It is a simple story but there are a lot of things we can connect to. That’s the beauty of this script. So if any similar situations arise at home that the character has been through, I can always relate.
What’s next in the pipeline?
There are many. I have done a film with Jeet, called Raavan. It will be released on Id. I have done a film called Chiro Sakha Hey by Argha Deep Chatterjee. There are some more that I won’t be able to reveal at the moment.
Pictures: Pabitra Das
Styling: Neha Gandhi Binjrajka
Hair and make-up: Abhijit Paul
Location: JW Marriott Kolkata
