DNA (October 16, 2014)

Lisa Haydon’s personal style is fun, quirky and eclectic. Of the current lot. she’s among the most well-dressed and was even awarded by Vogue for having the ‘Best Breakthrough’ this year.

But dressing her up to play a wild child in the upcoming The Shaukeens became something of a task. She was not happy with the wardrobe her stylist had picked out. And although she did not kick up a fuss, she voiced her apprehensions to director Abhishek Sharma, explaining that her character needed to dress differently. He agreed.

She has a bohemian look in the film and the first few costume rehearsals didn’t work out. That’s when Abhishek had a brainwave. He decided to pull out outfits from Lisa’s personal wardrobe. Given that her on-screen personality is close to her off-screen personality, the idea was brilliant. And the silver lining being that it was an idea that Lisa jumped at. Sharma confirms, “When Lisa is not comfortable in what she’s wearing, it shows on her face and so we decided to dress her in her own clothes.”

That’s when the director finally got the Ahana (her character’s name in the film) he had envisioned all along. “Lisa has a tremendous personal style,” says Abhishek. “Even when casually dressed, she looks stunning. We wanted to capture that same effect on screen. And her own outfits did the magic.”

Lisa admits, “One day, I got a call from Abhishek saying that I needed to get all the clothes I had. So I packed them all in a suitcase and came ready for a costume rehearsal.” Ask her what are the brands one would find in her wardrobe and she says, “I don’t go by names. I’ll have top labels, but I’d also have stuff that I may have picked from street-side shops. Eventually, fashion is all about how well you can carry yourself. That’s what matters.”