Embracing the desi boho
With the festive season right around the corner, Bollywood actress Aditi Rao Hydari talks about her journey to becoming one of the most promising faces of traditional Indian couture.
Plain sari, hair neatly tucked, minimal makeup. When Bollywood audiences saw Aditi Rao Hydari for the first time on the big screen (she had made her debut two years ago with the Tamil film Sringaram) grinding spices and lip syncing to Genda Phool in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Delhi 6, the suggestion that this petite, light-eyed beauty could actually be a fashionista in her own right would've seemed a little exaggerated.
Today, Aditi Rao Hydari is living out this fantasy on the cover page of every top glossy magazine in India and at every public appearance she makes. The fashion police are yet to mark her negatively. In short, Aditi - in the popular imagination, at least - comes across as a fashionista who can do no wrong, when it comes to making an impactful style statement.
Today, Aditi Rao Hydari is living out this fantasy on the cover page of every top glossy magazine in India and at every public appearance she makes. The fashion police are yet to mark her negatively. In short, Aditi - in the popular imagination, at least - comes across as a fashionista who can do no wrong, when it comes to making an impactful style statement.
Today, a chunk of any conversation around Aditi, who hails from an illustrious family (her maternal grandfather J Rameshwar Rao was the Raja of Wanaparthy, while her paternal great grandfather Sir Akbar Hydari was the prime minister to the Nizam of Hyderabad), either revolves around her impeccable style or her porcelain skin and roses-and-peaches complexion.
Things are roses and peaches on the work front, too. Earlier this year, the actress teamed up with noted filmmaker Mani Ratnam for Kaatru Veliyidai, a romance set against the backdrop of the Kargil war of 1999, with Aditi's performance getting a vote of confidence from critics. Just last month, the actress played the titular role in Omung Kumar's Bhoomi, a film that also marked Sanjay Dutt's return to the big screen, where she essayed the role of a victim of physical assault. Come December, and Aditi will be seen sharing screen space with the likes of Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor in what is the singularly most awaited film of the year, Padmavati.
Things are roses and peaches on the work front, too. Earlier this year, the actress teamed up with noted filmmaker Mani Ratnam for Kaatru Veliyidai, a romance set against the backdrop of the Kargil war of 1999, with Aditi's performance getting a vote of confidence from critics. Just last month, the actress played the titular role in Omung Kumar's Bhoomi, a film that also marked Sanjay Dutt's return to the big screen, where she essayed the role of a victim of physical assault. Come December, and Aditi will be seen sharing screen space with the likes of Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor in what is the singularly most awaited film of the year, Padmavati.
In the past, Aditi has been forthright about talking about the perils of making it on her own, though she gives the debate a more refreshing perspective. So, what are the larger problems of an outsider in the industry? "I see you're not using the word that shouldn't be used - the 'N' word," she jokes. Nepotism, it is. "I learnt this from my mother: rather than crying about what you don't have, put your energy into what you do. The fact is that I am privileged in my world. And films are not really my world. So, I feel it is natural for people to help their own people. It's a human instinct. It does not happen only in the film industry. When the head of a business hangs his boots, his son takes over."
That said, she does wish the industry could offer more lucrative opportunities to outsiders so that they too could hope to grow and improve upon their craft. "You may be talented, but you may not necessarily get the best first break, and then it's easy for people write you off. So, outsiders may not have the best opportunities to showcase their talent in comparison to the kids from the industry. That's the only difference. Having said that, you do find your groove eventually. I can crib about a number of people who have not cast me or chosen someone else over me, but I would rather be loyal to those who have backed me."
That said, she does wish the industry could offer more lucrative opportunities to outsiders so that they too could hope to grow and improve upon their craft. "You may be talented, but you may not necessarily get the best first break, and then it's easy for people write you off. So, outsiders may not have the best opportunities to showcase their talent in comparison to the kids from the industry. That's the only difference. Having said that, you do find your groove eventually. I can crib about a number of people who have not cast me or chosen someone else over me, but I would rather be loyal to those who have backed me."
After all, 2017 has been an important year with the magnum opus Padmavati wrapping the year, hopefully, on a positive note for her. On the other hand, there is palpable excitement about Diwali. "I like to go home to Hyderabad and spend Diwali with family," she says. "We don't light firecrackers, but we light diyas and everybody is made to sing shlokas. And when I am in Bombay, I usually like to go to Diwali parties there. They actually feel quite special."
anamika@khaleejtimes.com
