Style Résumé

One fashion trend you wish would make a comeback?

Dungarees. I loved wearing them as a child. I wish they would come back, so I could slip back into them without being trashed for my style. They are so comfortable and so hot.

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How would you dress up an LBD, the fun, Parineeti way?

I would wear it with fun canvas shoes to give it a cool, quirky twist. I would keep the rest of the look clean, sans accessories. I don’t care for them much, anyway.

One actress whose style sense you really appreciate?

Kangna Ranaut. There is nobody with a better style sense in our industry right now.

Crop tops and palazzo pants.

Your biggest fashion disaster?

I have had countless of them. In my first year, I made too many mistakes. I once wore a dress that turned out to be so transparent that when cameras flashed, it looked off.

Your best fashion moment?

I have had few good ones lately. I am proud of my improved red carpet appearances.

Earlier I was almost always trashed. Lately, I have been getting only positive responses. I am enjoying the way I am looking right now. Dress, Gucci.

Real to reel life A lot of Parineeti’s celluloid sass, which is getting more and more talked about, comes from within, I realise. But she insists that working in the marketing division of Yash Raj Films has helped shape how she projects herself, too. “It definitely helped immunise me to negative media reports, and also deal with journalists and understand how news reaches the papers and the magazines. It hasn’t helped me be an actor, because I feel that acting is either in you or not in you. I probably had it in me all along. I am confident in front of the camera. But I did learn how to be media savvy and smartly tackle all the other things that come with being an actress.”

That’s probably from where she learned how to find a commendable balance between wearing your heart on your mouth and being diplomatic. She is not the one to court controversies that work against her. And absolutely no cat fights for her. So when asked about Alia Bhatt’s much-hyped commentary on her style, she profusely plays it down. “It just got aired a bit much, but it was really one random comment about my style. She just said that I should improve my style sense and that’s perfectly fine.” So she accepts she needs improvement in the style department? “Of course, I do,” she says without any inhibitions. “In the past, I was overweight and I had to often make do with no-so-perfect outfits. They were obviously not the best clothes. They didn’t photograph so well or probably didn’t flatter my body type, so I made some unimpressive appearances, and that had people saying that I was a bad dresser. But if you see my recent appearances, you will see that I have improved. Now I am getting fantastic reviews for my style.”

Size Sagas, Style Sagas In an industry obsessed with fitness and maybe even size zero, has her size limited her, both in terms of style and the kind of roles she bags? “It has been a roadblock to style. But I get great roles because directors feel that I will be able to do justice to that role. I don’t think my body size has much to do with it. Yes, if I am required to wear a bikini, I can’t right now, because I am not in shape, just yet. But I am working on getting fitter. I have already come down by many sizes since I entered this industry. Even those people who criticised my style or rather the lack of it, are now saying that I have lost weight and I am dressing better.” However, Parineeti feels no pressure to be as-slim-as-you-can-be. “I don’t think size zero exists anymore in the industry. The obsession is with your looking your best and I feel that’s fair. If I don’t look good, the audience is bound to feel that I don’t deserve to be on screen. I have to look good, and I take that very seriously. I was not a fashion junkie, so it took time for me to get my act together, but I am glad that opinions are already changing.”

We are curious to see if Parineeti will transform into one super-hot style diva. She is quick to quip, “If I were an actress for whom people said, ‘she looks awesome, she’s so sexy, she’s so beautiful, but she just can’t act,’ I would feel useless. I really do not want to be in that category. I want to be an actress who looks good. I love that people are already saying that.” She insists that she doesn’t want that aspect to fade away ever. “Even if a film I do sinks without a trace and is tagged the worst film ever, I want critics and the audiences to say that I still played my part well. I am glad that it’s already happening, albeit in a small way, and I hope it remains like that.” “If I were an actress for whom people said, ‘she looks awesome, she’s so sexy, she’s so beautiful, but she just can’t act,’ I would feel useless. I really do not want to be in that category. I want to be an actress who looks good. I love that people are already saying that.”