Kriti Bapna, the stylist of Pyaar Ka Dard Hai… on Star Plus, is the one who designs clothes and looks after various departments like makeup and hairstyle of characters which later go on to become a trend among people. As a matter of fact, Kriti, with her style sense, has been creating wonders with the characters she has been styling for. In a nutshell, she knows how to segregate with different personalities of her show. In a chat with the stylist, Kriti touches various aspects of her trade and more. Excerpts: Tell us something about yourself? Hailing from Kota, Rajasthan, I am here in Mumbai to give wings to my dreams. I pursued studies in fashion designing from NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Technology), Kolkata. I started my career by assisting Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla. While working with them, I got a call from Rajshri Productions which wanted me as a stylist for their show Yahaan Main Ghar Ghar Kheli for Zee TV. Currently, I am offering my services to the same production house for Pyaar Ka Dard Hai… for Star Plus. In my career as a stylist in TV industry, I have so far worked for only two shows and that too of the same production house- The Rajshris. How has your journey been so far? Well, it has been very satisfying and fruitful throughout. I have the honour of working with the best production house on television as well as the film industry. The kind of confidence they have shown in me and the trust which makes me involve in giving the best is something which is big to achieve in such young age. So, as far as a new comer is concerned, I feel myself privileged to work with a banner like the Rajshris. Where do you get inspiration from? Well well, it’s purely based on the character for whom I am styling for. My inspiration is the character who is assigned to me and along with that I sit with the actor to get a brief check and approval from his side as well, because at times actors do come up with some good ideas which can be helpful for people like us too. I believe in staying simple and not being loud and dramatic because showing something which is out of reality check is not my style and that is the basic thing that I keep in mind while taking any character in hand as my subject. What do you have to say that the kind of style you give to actors become their own style as well? Yes, I do agree with this because at times what happens is that the kind of style we give to characters they start thinking the same way as well. So, it is possible that they tend to follow the identical kind of style. How does style contribute towards the success of any show? The first and foremost important aspect of any show is the character portrayal while the other is the costume designing along with hairstyle. It’s a misconception that hair doesn’t contribute much towards style. In fact I believe that hairstyle can make a person look more elegant than makeup can contribute towards it. The most important thing which we always keep into consideration which other show fails is that we have night clothes like gowns and night suits for everybody because sleeping with a full dress is beyond one’s digestion level. Practicality is utmost important for any show which is portraying a character somewhere related to real life. Who you consider to be the most stylish person of television? I love the way Karanvir Bohra carries himself, he styles outstandingly, is good in every role that he plays. From Bollywood, I love Sonam Kapoor. Who is your favorite designer? I love Masaba Gupta’s designer clothes. Whom would you love to style from history? I would love to style Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur. Though she is not that famous but I love the way she used to carry her style with such grace and elegance. What change would you love to bring in television? The time frame which is given to us to assign our work is something which, at times, leads to dropping out some most important ideas. Thus I believe the time frame should increase for more fine work to be placed on the table. What advice on style check would you love to give to common people? Everyone in India has not much of sense of clothing; they don’t know how to segregate different occasions. On very first meet, people are judged by their clothing sense. In fact there is a saying that a man is judged through his shoes and a women is judged through the way she carries herself with what she wears. The kinds of clothes you wear portray the kind of person you are from within. So, wear what makes you comfortable and check yourself in the mirror rather than asking others. What are your future plans? Well, right now I am very happy with what I am doing. I want to stick with the same for a long run. I want to do a lot of daily dramas only because horror and action are not the genres I prefer.