Upping the fashion ante

Hyderabad’s very own Aditi Rao Hydari has garnered several accolades with her performance in films. Making a debut in Malayalam film industry, Aditi has spread her charm in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu movies too. Fashion comes easy to Aditi and she was a showstopper along with actress Kangana Ranaut for fashion designer Gaurav Gupta at Blenders Pride Fashion Tour 2018 in Hyderabad. On the sidelines of the show, in a freewheeling chat, the diva of Indian cinema talks about fashion, Hyderabad and her upcoming Telugu film ‘Antariksham’.

Excerpts from an interview:

What kind of fashion do you prefer?
I feel that fashion is all about trends and what is in, and what is not in all kinds of rules. I feel like you have to make your own rules. You need to be comfortable with who you are and the clothes you wear. For me, the most important is style because it is the extension of you and it is more timeless, individualistic and authentic. We are that generation that makes our own rules and I feel it is important to be unique and not following a herd or any sort of prototype. People should love you for who you are.

What is your comfort zone?
Usually, on a normal day, I roam around in my sweatpants and my shorts. I feel like if you are comfortable in what you wear you can make it look good because it is an extension of who you are. I remember when I first joined the industry there was so much pressure on me because I was tiny, and I didn’t want to wear heels. I used to always say can’t, I wear sneakers, I don’t like to wear makeup, and everybody would tell me no you should be glamorous, you are an actress. However, the day I said no, and this is me and this is where I am that’s the day when I think that everything just fell into place. I started working with directors with whom I wanted to work with because I feel that people then love you for who you are and not who you are trying to be. So, I feel like my comfort zone is being comfortable with being petite, not wearing makeup type of girl.

Tell us about your connection with Hyderabad?
It is my city, I was born here! Both my parents are from here. I have two incredible families that go a long way back which are very special ones from Hyderabad. So, I have a very special connection to the city, honestly, my entire family lives here except me. I grew up with mother in the north and now I live in Mumbai. All my holidays, all my festivals everything was actually spent here. I do love the city and I think I take a lot of pride in being a Hyderabadi and also because it is a very special city and has a beautiful mix of many cultures. People here are very sweet and generous. I feel very proud when people say Hyderabad is such a nice place.

What do you like about Hyderabad?
I think actually and truthfully, I love the culture. I love that it is a mixed culture and people live so beautifully. When I came to shoot for a film this year it was either my driver, production manager or somebody from the sets would bring homemade food for me every day, it was such a sweet gesture and that shows the hospitality of Hyderabadis.

Tell us about your role in ‘Antariksham’?
This is the first film about a space mission, in a way it is first of its kind. Sankalp Reddy directed ‘Ghazi’, which was a unique film. And he is helming ‘Antariksham’. Sankalp has a different approach and I think he is very technically sorted, and I really admire that facet of him. I like the fact that he brought a girl to stand in par with the boys. It is a mission of one girl and three boys who go into space together. I feel like it is very good he did that because girls do stand with boys and they are as capable. They are making their own rules and charting out their own paths. I think that by showing that in the cinema you are giving girls the confidence to go out and live out dreams. I feel like that is what a true heroine is. A working girl who makes her own journey and stands up for herself that’s what true heroine is. So that is what the movie is about, and I am looking forward to people to appreciate the film.

How was it to shoot for a space thriller?
It was tough to shoot, we were harnessed for 50 days and it was like there was no blood in our legs. Literally, the blood supply gets cut off, you have to keep losing it. I was badly injured while shooting and I was told that I have to rest for 10 days, but in two days I was back on my harness popping painkillers it was very tough. The outfit, my helmet itself was four kilos and for a 48-kilo human, a four-kilo helmet is a lot (laughs). It was pretty hard, but I was determined like the girl in the film.