Costume designer Rick Roy on the experience of working with Mehta for his new show Never Kiss Your Best Friend
Rick Roy and Nakuul Mehta
It's rare that the industry gives it costume designers and stylists their due credit. But if one has managed to catch the breezy ZEE5 show Never Kiss Your Best Friend, you'd find it hard to not ignore the vibrant look and feel of the rom-com. Set in suburban London, the story told by its leads Sumer and Taani, played by the wonderful Nakuul Mehta and Anya Singh has the desired effect because of their fabulous chemistry and the right production quality.
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Rick, who is known for some stellar works including the hit Tumhari Sulu, Housefull 2 amongst others tells mid-day that the singular brief was to render relatability to the narrative through clothes. "It is important for me to stay true to the vision of the director and the writers. A film or a series is primarily their baby and we have to work in sync with them. I did extensive research of the kid of clothes college kids were wearing 5-6 years ago and adapted the changes accordingly.
"Getting a clear brief about the character's look and developing different options is the most crucial part of this process. For Anya, we stuck to simple fabrics and dresses in the younger part. Nakuul's Sumer is primarily in hoodies. In the older part, we've give Anya's Taani gets a taste of freedom as she moves to Cardiff. But she is someone with a great sense of values so she isn't too drastic. We kept minimal changes to her look including the red highlights."
How is it working with Nakuul - the megastar of TV? Quiz him if he has tantrums to report and Rick laughs and says, "Far from it. He was warm and kind to us. We would make him try 80 to 90 costumes a day but he'd quietly do as asked. Not once has he been even remotely irritated. Working with those who understand the process of storytelling, makes your job easier."
It's tough to not ask how important it was to keep the clothes of this young rom-com relatable. Given that Karan Johar's production Student of the Year 2 came under fire for showing its leads in clothes that aren't seen in regular college, Roy says he bore the criticism in mind. "It wont be fair to say SOTY 2 got it wrong. By design of the storytelling and the template of the film that it is, it's meant to be aspirational. This isn't that story. This needed a young, vibrant, vivacious, peppy look and feel and that's what we worked to give. I am thankful for all the love coming our way."
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