Doing ‘Zanjeer’ for Apoorva Lakhia: Designer Pria Puri

Candolim (Goa), Nov 29 (IANS) Designer Pria Kaataria Puri, who is making her foray into Bollywood with styling up actresses Priyanka Chopra and Mahie Gill for the remake of 1973 film “Zanjeer”, says she is doing the project just for director Apoorva Lakhia, who is “a very dear friend”.

“I am finally stepping into Bollywood with this film and I am very excited. I have been approached long back to do Bollywood movies but I was not interested. Apoorva Lakhia is a very dear friend and he literally hounded me and convinced me do this film,” Puri told IANS on the sidelines of the second day of the India Resort Fashion Week (IRFW) Thursday.

Amit Mehra is producing the film, which was originally made by his late father Prakash Mehra in 1973 with Amitabh Bachchan in the lead role.

Priyanka is playing the female lead in the film that also stars Mahie and southern star Ram Charan Teja who is stepping into Big B’s shoes.

Giving a brief idea about what she is styling for both the female characters, Puri said that Priyanka will be seen in a modern avatar and Mahie will shock everybody with her image makeover in the film.

“Priyanaka is playing a modern Mala so we put things together keeping in mind the director’s vision for her. For Mahie, the audience will be quite surprised and shocked to see her because this film is a total makeover for her. You will not recognize the old Mahie,” she said.

The designer travelled a lot to source the clothes for Priyanka.

“I sourced Priyanka’s clothes from everywhere around the world. From Geneva, Paris, Italy to Kuwait, I travelled a lot,” said Puri.

Talking about the experience working with both the actresses, she said it was lovely.

“Priyanka is a seasoned style icon, also she is now an international celebrity. She is someone who is not only glamorous but also strong from inside. She knows what she wants and that for me, was a bigger challenge… to work with someone who knows what she wants. Mahie, on the other hand, was very easy to design for. She gave me the creative freedom,” she said.

For IRFW, the designer showcased a collection that was inspired by Picasso’s paintings. There were lot of bright colours used on the garments that varied from kaftans and tunics to dresses.

(Nivedita can be contacted at nivedita.s@ians.in)

IANS 2012-11-29 23:34:05