Costume designer Amritha Ram has worked with Kamal Haasan on multiple projects, but Thug Life—directed by the legendary Mani Ratnam—offered a creative journey like no other. In this exclusive chat with ETimes, she opened up about building the layered wardrobe for Kamal’s complex character, working closely with Mani Ratnam’s precise vision, and how the film’s aesthetics stand apart from typical commercial fare. Excerpts…What was the most exciting challenge about designing for Kamal Haasan in Thug Life under Mani Ratnam’s direction?The answer to the question is in the question itself. It’s just two names. The whole idea of working in a film with these two names is the most exciting part. It just can’t get better.Were there specific inspirations or narratives that guided your designs?Yes, inspirations—a lot. Guidance was great. Mani sir guided me through the entire way and I think he exactly knew what he wanted. He had a specific aesthetic in mind, and with that, it was just so easy. This aesthetic is something I love too. So once you watch the film, you will know that this is something we’ve never done before—something nobody really does—because it’s a little away from the regular commercial way the main actor or hero dresses. So hats off to Mani sir for going that way, and hats off to Kamal sir. Of course, he has always done what others don’t do, and this will definitely be one of them.Can you share insights into how Kamal Haasan’s character’s wardrobe evolved throughout the film? How did you ensure the costumes reflected his character’s journey?So with this film, I had three different stages of his character, and each stage was very clear. The first one was a very young look—it was a 90s look. So we focused on tones and everything, and it turned out to work well.The second and third looks were very important. You move from the younger look to the middle-aged look where he resides in Delhi. We looked at what a thug would generally wear in Delhi. Mani sir was very clear about keeping it minimal—not over-exaggerating or adding too much. He said Kamal sir’s character speaks for itself. He’s an actor who needs to be kept absolutely minimalistic.So we added one signature watch. Back then, digital watches were really fashionable and easily available in the black markets and bazaars, so we gave him a capsule digital watch—which you’ll observe in the second look. Initially, he wears a gold watch that he gifts to Mr Simbu. Then, after he gets back from jail, we go with the digital watch and a very simple, understated khada. Not the regular one, but something slightly similar—we kept it very simple and clean.Everything else is just what you see—it all fell into place. The colour palettes were designed to be very neutral—white, beige, brown—and of course, midnight blue and black. We used warm and cool tones for that particular look, and hair that went with it. Mani sir had even given me an illustration of how he wanted everything else to look apart from the clothes.How Mani sir works is—first I come up with a costume board, then we sit and work on it together. He picks what he wants, and then we go ahead and make everything. Then we have a trial day—which is more than just a trial day. It’s a day we finalize the looks. We try everything on Kamal sir, Mani sir takes pictures, and then we shortlist. There might be one more round, or we may end it there. By the time we reach the shoot, we know exactly what we want. Auditions and improvs are always there, but most of it is set—and if we need to do something extra, we know what that might be.Look three follows the character’s journey completely. He’s in Nepal, untamed—his beard grows bigger and wider. He grows his hair long and textured. We tried a lot with the hair. For the aesthetic, we looked at what comes from Nepal. It had to be understated but very relaxed.I prepared a board again, and sir went through it. We had two days of shoot for this look. On the first day, we made a set of outfits, tried them out, and then the director chose a bunch. We worked more on those. For this look, we decided on “no color”—you’ll see green and black, and that’s about it. It had to reflect the mindset of the character.There was one more detail we focused on: for a man who lives in Delhi, who has always worn simple suits—shirts and trousers since his young age—to move into this look, we didn’t want anything too stylish. We wanted something appropriate. There’s even a dialogue in the film where his wife says, “Oh my god, is this new? Did you pick all this for me? This looks like a costume for a movie.” That’s how deeply it’s woven in. Everything fell into place. It was a great process for me.Having worked extensively with Kamal Haasan across various projects, how would you describe your experience?Working with Kamal sir is—at the risk of repeating myself—an absolute learning experience. He knows so much about everything. Again, I’m repeating myself—he knows everything about fabric, textures, dyeing techniques, everything.If there is a brief, he’ll give you so many inputs because he’s done so much. There’s nothing he hasn’t done—in terms of very fancy costumes to very realistic ones. He’s done everything. So working with him is a learning experience where you keep improvising, and he keeps improvising. You keep learning from time to time, and the learning just keeps growing. It’s an amazing experience I will always cherish.With the recent controversy surrounding Kamal Haasan’s comments, do you feel the noise has taken attention away from the film’s visuals and your creative work?As someone who does purely creative work, I don’t give much thought to anything outside my field. Once we finish our work, we are done. The rest is up to the team to take it forward. I know this is a team that puts enough emphasis on everybody’s work. So I have nothing to say about it—I don’t think it interferes with us or the scope of what we’re meant to get out of this.Have you received any direct feedback from audiences or cultural commentators regarding the costumes in Thug Life, especially in the context of the ongoing debates?From the promotions to the trailer release, people loved the aesthetic. They thought it was something new—a fresh visual that hadn’t been seen before. So I’ve only received appreciation, and I don’t think it concerns anything else other than just the movie and the look. Yes, I’ve received a lot of appreciation, and I’m very thankful for the film.
