Citadel: Honey Bunny spans two different timelines and helping the series come alive in a way that most of its looks are leaving an impact, is stylist Ameira Punvani. t2 chatted with Ameira about the lookbook of the Prime Video series, led by Varun Dhawan and Samantha.

Citadel: Honey Bunny spans two timelines and though it plays out only over eight years, we do see a lot of variation in looks, especially of Varun Dhawan and Samantha. What were the highlights of this experience?

I was aware that they were creating a spyverse and there would be a lot of action. One half of it is set in the 1990s — that was a decade of strong pop culture, loud colours, some of the costumes were borderline caricaturish... extra fluffy sleeves, big polka dots and women with big hair. I decided to stay away from anything which would look like a caricature. I didn’t want the attention to go to the costumes. I wanted to maintain a balance and adhere to the overall palette of the series.

Citadel: Honey Bunny was completely up my alley. My biggest challenge was to ensure that my costumes became a part of the character and didn’t scream out their presence. I wanted the costumes to blend in and also be appropriate enough to the era. We went in with high-waisted flared jeans and broad belts. Even though it is set in the loud world of the ’90s, I used a few pastels in the palette. I didn’t want anything screaming for attention.

Nothing screams ‘attention’ more than Varun’s Bunny working as a stuntman in ’90s commercial Bollywood...

True! When researching, we looked at a lot of films from the ’90s starring Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt and Sunny Deol. It was great collaborating with Varun because he knows so much about the commercial films of that era, courtesy the fact that his father (David Dhawan) made so many of them.

I am also a film junkie who knows all the films from the ’90s. We used jackets in different colours. During a sequence where he plays a stuntman/ body double, I gave Varun high-waisted jeans and the kind of low-slung ganjis that Sanjay Dutt would wear at that time. He also wore a bandanna. Varun was very excited and sporting. He was always like: ‘Bring it on!’

The series shifts between 1992 and 2000 and though that is a gap of only eight years, it also marks the turn of the century and the advent of everything Y2K. How did that inform and influence your lookbook for the characters?

There is a definite change. The ’90s was about loud prints, plastic earrings, puffed-up hair for women, long hair for men, cowboy boots with heels.... By the time 2000 dawned, clothes became better fitted. There were low-waisted jeans, boat necks. Fashion became more minimal and utilitarian. The fits were more sleek.

In Citadel, Honey (Samantha) and Bunny start off as struggling actors in Bollywood, with big dreams. They are innocent in many ways. But life hits them and takes over and by the time they reach 1999, a lot has happened in their lives. As a result, the style palette has darker colours, the fits become sharper. Honey is a mom by now and in the opening scene, I wanted her to look like a hands-on mom. Her look is stylish but also functional. Busy moms generally don’t have the luxury to put together elaborate looks. Since she stays in a cold place now, we gave her a lot of layers. She drives a two-wheeler and so she wears flared jeans, sneakers, a V-neck sweater below which is a collared shirt and an oversized jacket on top. She’s warm, comfort is key for her and she doesn’t wear jarring colours.

Pick your favourite looks from the show...

Kay Kay Menon (who plays Baba/Vishwa) has huge charisma. He brought so much personality and style to his outfits, be it jeans, a sports jacket or boots. He wore a herringbone-patterned jacket in one scene, which was a standout because of the attitude he brought in.

I liked doing a denim-on-denim look with a pair of suede boots for Varun. A pair of denims with a white T-shirt is very basic but Varun killed it with even such a simple look.

Samantha does an an action series towards the end of the series in which she wears low-waisted jeans, a pair of boots and a very snug top, almost like a ganji. It looks like a bodysuit but isn’t. When she does action, you can see her strong arms. I thought that outfit packed quite a punch.

What were the advantages of working on a series as opposed to a film?

In a film, I would need to refrain from doing certain things but because this is a series with many episodes, I didn’t need to put each and every element in a single scene. That would have made it tacky. I took elements and used them multiple times with different costumes. I had to be clear not to overdo things

What about the secondary characters? Their looks are also pretty distinctive.

The character Chacko’s wife appears in only one scene and I gave her a kurta inspired by Madhuri Dixit in Dil To Pagal Hai, which was made in 1997. That is my hat-tip to that era.

Simran plays a powerful woman and we power-dressed her like in the ’90s. We gave her trousers and a blouson kind of shirt with shoulder pads.

You are doing another project with Raj & DK. What kind of interest do they show when it comes to costumes?

Yes, I have done a series with them, which is awaiting release. It is called Gulkanda Tales. Anyone working with Raj & DK has to bring in their A-game. Because they are writers themselves, their briefs are character-driven. I knew what they like and don’t like and I worked according to that. On any project, the costume designer/stylist is one of the first people who comes on board and before we started shooting, I spent about a year-and-a-half with Raj & DK discussing the style board. There is a lot to learn from them. They are always open to trying out and adapting to new things and that is so amazing.

What would you pick as your most creatively satisfying projects?

I am really pleased with Citadel. It is a dream come true to work on a show with the Russo Brothers attached. I have also just done a music video for Jasleen Royal (featuring Vijay Deverakonda and Radhikka Madan), which has been greatly appreciated. Even though it is just a music video, there has been a huge, positive feedback for its look. The song (Sahiba), in general, is looking so good.

Guru (2007) would, of course, be the film I am most proud of. A film directed by Mani Ratnam with Abhishek (Bachchan) and Aishwarya (Rai) was big enough and this one spanned five years and had a long trajectory. Even today, I get messages about Aishwarya’s look in Barso re.

In the current lot of actors, who do you think has great personal style?

Samantha has a great sense of style and is blessed with a body that helps her to carry off everything. She has a distinctive personal sense of style. I also love the way Anushka Sharma dresses. She is very effortless and chic.

Among the men, Varun has immense chutzpah. And Rekha, of course, is the ultimate. You can’t take your eyes off her. She is the original diva. Nobody can be like her.