Big B wears old watch from Chor Bazaar in 'Teen Patti'
By Ruchika Kher
Mumbai, Feb 15 (IANS) Cheap cloth, ill-fitted trousers, checked cotton shirts and an old watch from Mumbai's Chor Bazaar - these are what designer Ameira Punvani used to create Amitabh Bachchan's look in "Teen Patti" where he plays a reclusive mathematician.
She says the megastar gave her enough freedom to experiment with his look.
"I was given the liberty to go to the biggest shops, but I instead decided to go to small markets to buy stuff. For Mr.Bachchan I created a look that had trousers, which were a mix of polyester, cheap material, around Rs.200 per metre along with checked cotton shirts," Punvani told IANS in an interview.
"That was something a college professor would wear ; so we zeroed in on that. Also, I didn't make the fit of the trousers very contemporary. I gave it a double pleated American-cut style - it makes the trousers look a little baggy," she added.
Directed by Leena Yadav, "Teen Patti" features Amitabh as a mathematician trying to evolve a thesis on probability by relating it to the Indian card game of 'teen patti'. Also starring Hollywood veteran Ben Kingsley, the film is set to release Feb 26.
Punvani says there was no compromise on the detailing.
"We paid a lot of attention on detailing. So much so that I had to get a watch for Mr.Bachchan to complete his look. He wears the best of watches, but I went to Mumbai's Chor Bazaar and got a very old watch from there that was not even automatic.
"After getting it, I was sceptical about Mr.Bachchan's reaction. I didn't know whether he would wear that watch or not. But he was completely fine with the idea," said Punvani.
The designer is all praise for Bachchan. "Mr.Bachchan is such a marvellous person. He is such a huge personality and has an aura around him that you get scared when you first meet him. But he makes you so comfortable.
"He gave me a free hand and had no problems trying the costumes. He always used to give me time despite being so busy and patiently tried out everything. He is extremely professional," she said.
Punvani says she event visited colleges for ideas to design his look.
"Mr.Bachchan is playing a reclusive, genius maths professor in the film. For his look, I first remembered how my teachers used to look. I visited various colleges to see how professors are dressed there.
"The first thing that I noticed was that all of them were very simple and they were not really bothered about their outward appearance. So for Mr.Bachchan's look I decided to go for authentic materials to make the character look close to reality," she said.
Punvani, who has in the past designed costumes for films like "Guru", "Shortkut - The Con Is On" and "Zinda" among others, was responsible for crafting the look of the entire Indian cast of the film including R. Madhavan, Dhruv Ganesh, Shraddha Kapoor, Siddharth Kher and Vaibhav Talwar among others.
Her next project is Shahid Kapoor-starrer "Badmaash Company" for Yash Raj Films.
