In Conversation with Celebrity Stylist Meher Ahmed

Film Aamis, presented by Anurag Kashyap stars Lima Das and Arghadeep Baruah. In the film Lima Das is styled by, one of the top celebrity stylist Meher Ahmed.

A fashion director and an artist at heart, Meher has worked with some of the most renowned publications, fashion houses, brands and celebrities. She has styled for many A-list corporate firms and jewellery brands as well. She’s one of the first in-house stylist of Femina magazine and even today remains actively associated with Femina as a fashion expert panelist editorially and for their fashion events and campaigns.

Her work includes styling celebrities like Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor Khan, A R Rahman, Irrfan Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Harshvardhan Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Shilpa Shetty, Huma Qureshi, Jim Sarbh, Chitrangda Singh, Randeep Hooda, Angad Bedi, Tamannah Bhatia, Kali Koechlin to name a few.

Here are some Meher’s quotes from an interview:

Q1. What was Bhaskar’s brief to Meher and how did she go about it?

Meher Ahmed: After reading the script I listed a questionnaire of sorts for all the characters and discussed with Bhaskar to visualize each character better. Once the brief for the look and feel Bhaskar wanted was clear, I had the complete freedom to execute his vision in my own way. I wanted to keep the look and feel of Aamis as real as possible. Most of the clothes were aged or pre-used in order to have a more realistic version. I used to have a small set up, a corner of sorts in the Metanormal office to only get clothes aged!

Q2: On dressing up Lima

Meher: When I first met Lima Ba, any missing links about Nirmali in my head connected instantly. Working with her was fun since she’s not stuck up and is open to experimentation. That really eased a lot of pressure off me. One of my most cherished look is the outfit that I made for Nirmali in her dream sequence. Although it was a costume designers dream getting shattered as it was barely seen. But anyway, I felt Nirmali looked so out of the world in that costume. Seeing Lima Ba transform so easily into so many different personalities was a delight.

Q3: The tradition of Mekhela.. colours, weaves, etc..

Meher Ahmed: As I’ve mentioned earlier it was very important to keep Nirmali’s clothes as realistic as possible and close to the Northeastern culture. So most of her Mekhela Chadors has been sourced from actual people and not bought to give a more used feel. A brand new Mekhela Sador can make the character look fake and flashy!

So in the film you see Nirmali wearing not just Mekhela Chador but also Arunachali Sarong called Gaale which she wears as home wear in few scenes. She wears Bamboo Chignon, which is very commonly used in Assam and also simple Tradional Assamese jewellery for her everyday wear.

Also Read: GIFF: Rave Reviews for Bhaskar Hazarika’s Aamis