Ananya Panday and Anaita Shroff Adajania on letting fashion do the talking in ‘Call Me Bae’

It’s always fun when fashion and films come together to tell a riveting story. But what makes ‘Call Me Bae’ different? It’s probably the vivacious energy and passion that Ananya Panday has for her character Bella aka Bae, and the beauty with which celebrity stylist Anaita Shroff Adajania brings it to life onscreen. Though a lot of opinions floating around suggest it’s the desi version of Emily In Paris, there’s more to it than just the array of glamorous looks.

Panday plays the role of a girl hailing from an affluent family, where there’s no dearth of wealth as she resides in the lap of luxury. But one unfortunate turn of events brings her world crashing down, and the princess has to bid farewell to her castle. The show is an ode to self-discovery, living life on your terms and the harmless humour that is essential to navigate through life’s many events. We caught up with the actress and stylist to talk about the standout fashion moments in the series and what makes the show special.

Harper's Bazaar: Anaita, the process of styling for a series and then a fashion series is different. What is your creative process like when the costumes have such an important role to play in how the central character is portrayed on screen?

Anaita Shroff Adajania: Well to be honest with you, I approach both in the same way. I feel it's still a character. I'm not styling Ananya, I'm styling Bae. So, in this case I have to see what Bae's journey is like, where she starts, what's her progress like, how she evolves in her sense of style and finally where it gets to. So even in a film where fashion is not the mainstay, my characterisation and thought of styling them is the same. It's worked so far.

HB: Fashion aspirants do not view it as just something that’s got to do with beautiful clothes. Fashion is a communicative process. How would you advise on the same?

ASA: Think through. My advice to new people would be to trust your instinct, be observant and not be a copycat because there are already people doing that. Try and be as original as you can be because otherwise if you're just going to copy what's already there and you're just doing that for the sake of it, I mean you're going to be forgotten very soon. Be your inspiration and create something new. 

HB: Ananya, as a public figure, the judgments on what you’re wearing will come no matter what. Have you gotten better at dealing with the harsh comments?

Ananya Panday: Honestly, I don't think when it came to my clothes, I ever cared that much. I don't think that was something that I took very seriously, because I honestly really go by how I'm feeling on a day. I know that so much of my job, most of my job involves me looking a certain way, dressing up, and spending so much time in hair and makeup that when I'm off duty, I'm off duty! And for me, my motto has always been to keep it real and be myself. That's what I try to do and I want you young girls and boys to look at me and be like okay, she doesn't always look perfect and that's fine. To give them the confidence and courage to do that. So, if I can make that impact then I don't look at the negative stuff. 

HB: But what do you have to say about the perfection that cloud their minds?

AP: So today I'm looking like this but I was at the airport recently and there's a picture of me where I don’t look glamorous at all. So, I try to balance it out. If I'm dressing up like this today, then on my way back home you'll see me in my track pants and t-shirt. That’s how extreme it is.

HB: Coming to the looks in Call Me Bae, are there any particular looks that you felt were very similar to how you like to dress off camera too?

AP: With Bae, I think especially when she moved to Mumbai and she was playing around with colour, I liked this one outfit which is, when I looked at it, I was like oh, Ananya would never wear that! It was this mini skirt that had a print and then a shirt which had button prints on it, and then there was a scarf with another print in my hair. And then I think in some scenes we added the trench also with the red print. So I think the colour play was kind of similar to how I dress. 

HB: Are there moments where you’re not comfortable with the outfit but have to get going because the character demands it?

AP:  Honestly I think it depends on the situation. If I'm uncomfortable and it's going to come in the way of my performance then I would bring it up and I would discuss it with Anaita or the director and tell them that it's going to hamper my movement. Then I don't want that to come in the way because at the end of the day for every department, it's the performance that matters. And sometimes if the director is very particular about it then you find a way to work around it. 

ASA: In the entire show, I think only once did we change something, that's it. It was the Korean dinner. Ananya had a point of view and we agreed with it. So it's not as scrappy as people expect it to be. I think she was amazing and I think also with her, what I loved as a stylist is that as we developed the look she kind of owned. 

HB: So Ananya you’re not too fussy with your outfits?

AP:  Maybe in real life I'm more fussy, but when it came to Bae, I understood where the styling department was coming from and also I think playing this character gave me a lot more confidence. If Ananya had to carry those same outfits in real life I don't know if I'd be able to carry it with the same swag that Bae did it with. So I think being her also added to the confidence.

HB: Anaita, were there any looks particularly that were hard to put together? Any scene where the outfit has to communicate what the character was trying to convey?

ASA: I think for every scene there was something that spoke to us and I felt like, at some point, she needed a softness where she wore this black sectional Manish Malhotra gown that was again custom-made for us and a shock of pink. So it was like balancing you know severity but with a bit of a flair. Like in the final debate scene, I think the suit had gaps but it had black roses so there was a bit of sadness, but she's yet going to bloom like a big flower with her powerful performance in that. So nothing happens by chance. Everything is planned and orchestrated. Also, something about Bae, a part of her personality is that even though so much has changed in her life her core personality doesn't change and I think that's the same with fashion you know. At the end suddenly because she's talking about something serious that doesn't mean that she isn't going to dress up or dress smart or dress powerful. She uses fashion as her expression. 

HB: Ananya, who are your all-time favourite onscreen characters when it comes to fashion trends?

AP: I would say Poo from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham because I think to date we're copying those Manish Malhotra designs. Right now for Halloween, I dressed up like her. I would say Aisha as well because at that time it was the turn of a new generation. I remember Sonam's first lehenga, her entry shot in that film. It was this low-waist beige lehenga and it was just so sexy, that defined also a generation of style. And I would say for some reason Kuch Kuch Hota Hai also.

HB: You’ve had quite the journey with social media yourself. It’s an important element in Call Me Bae. How do you deal with the vulnerabilities?

AP:  I'm very very different from Bae in real life. There are similarities for sure but there are also differences and it took quite a bit of work to put that on because she's always on and she's always talking 100 words per second. So she's way more dramatic. But for social media right now, I've learned to deal with it a lot better. I've stopped trying to fight it and I'm trying to use it to my advantage. I'm using it when I think it's important for me or when I'm in the mood for it rather than allowing it to dictate my mood. Vulnerabilities depend on the day. Sometimes something might affect you and on another day it might not. So I take it every day as it comes.

Lead Image Credit: Amazon Prime

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