A name to reckon in Tollywood, Shravya Varma, the celebrity stylist and a film producer, has dressed celebrities like Vijay Deverakonda, PV Sindhu, Keerthy Suresh, Saina Nehwal, Rashmika Mandana, Ram Charan, Nagarjuna, Vikram to name a few. While her early beginnings are rooted in Tollywood as a costume designer, she at present caters to a clientele that includes business persons and celebrities from pan India. Having established herself as a celebrity stylist for more than a decade, this stylist turned producer is a two time TEDX speaker. Not only that, Shravya has recently made her debut in the F&B industry as well with Bellinie & Bae cafe located in Jubilee Hills. CE speaks to Shravya Varma about her love for styling, journey and the road ahead.
What inspired you to become a stylist?
I didn’t have a particular person to look up to when I started off because there were not too many stylists to begin with. Right now we’re in a place where there’s so much to look up to. It’s not just about film styling anymore. There are so many different variants. But back when I started in 2004, there were only costumers and dressmen. Perhaps it was just my love for fashion and the movies and probably the marriage between the two felt like that’s where I belong. And also the fact that I was never a great student. I was never good at anything else. Right after completing class 12, I started doing commercial shoots for some saree brands. One of the first saree brands that I worked with had ads plastered all across town and all across from tier 2, tier 3 states and cities as well. Then my journey went on for a TV show, then it went on to a movie. In 2012, a film called Denikaina Ready was released where I worked on as a professional for the first time.
How is the work different now from the time you started?
When I started there was no WhatsApp to begin with. As ancient as I may sound right now, it was much more difficult to work back then because right now approvals are quicker, budgets are higher, time was also different back then. Right now for example I have a car, I have a phone with WhatsApp and internet on it. I have a team of assistants that help me. And I have the capacity to bring outfits from Delhi or Mumbai much easier.
When it comes to styling for a movie or styling a star, what are the criteria that you keep in mind?
It’s important to separate the star from the character that I am styling. It depends on what project you are doing. If I am doing a film, I am only looking at the character of the film, not the star, right? Of course, I must keep in mind the magnitude of the star and the audience pulse also. There should be a fine balance between the two. But that being said, the easiest thing while working in a film is that if you notice clothes, that means I have not done my job correctly. My job is to blend in the character. But of course, if it’s a commercial film and if I am supposed to be noticed, then that’s a different story altogether.
Does the star status have a role in it?
100% it does. With the age of social media, it’s become a new trend where the fans have started figuring out from where we got that particular outfit from, how much it costs etc. Either you have to give fans something that they can imitate and it becomes like a star’s style, which used to be back in 2000s or the unreachability that has become the trend. So, if my work in a film is being imitated by fans, then that’s the biggest form of flattery. But if it is like a place where, for example, he’s going to an airport, an event or somewhere where he’s doing his personal appearance, where he needs to come through his personal personality has to come through, then it’s pretty much depending on their personality.
What are the challenges that you faced in your career?
It may look like we’re having a gala time and we look like it’s a very fancy job and we’re like roaming around with celebrities and all, but what happens behind those caravan doors, only we know. But mainly the challenges would be time. Like most often we’re not given enough time. And we’re suckers for appreciation to be very frank. We kind of thrive on that kind of dopamine hit.
You have styled so many celebrities, who is your favourite?
I can’t quite say that because my work has been very different for different clients and I’ve been appreciated by all those respective clients a lot. I do have very long standing relationships with all of my clients. For example, when I’m styling Nagarjuna, I’m driving to work to go to his house to do trials for him and he is the same person on whom I have been crushing my entire life. Whereas, when I worked with Vikram for PS2 promotions, it’s like a different high altogether because I go to his social media page and people are calling out my work and appreciating it in every second comment is more than a high that I can explain. And of course, I will be always biased towards Vijay Devarakonda because I got a new identity altogether, even though I have been in work for far longer than he has, the identity that I got for my work on him was very different, coming from a newcomer’s perspective. And then of course, my ladies, I have Trisha Krishnan, I have to thank Keerthy Suresh, Rashmika Mandanna and my sports clients. I do wake up and constantly pinch myself even now that even in that fast-paced life, I do feel very grateful that it’s not just about me wanting to work, that my time that I’ve invested in for so many years is seeing fruit.
Do you have a bucket list of celebrities you want to style?
Yes, of course. That is like a never-ending list. Pawan Kalyan is somebody I’ve always wanted to style and I hope that happens sometime. Samantha is somebody I’ve not worked with, so she would be one of my biggest names in my bucket list. Also, I wanted to style somebody like Janhvi Kapoor because even though she’s a Bollywood actress, I feel like she has that South Indian roots I want to explore. I want to work with an athlete from a cricketing field. Also to work with somebody who is not very much into fashion but is interested in getting into fashion.
What other interests do you have?
I have forayed into producing my first ever film last year. But again, that was a different kind of labour of love, because I think we were caught in an unfortunate time to have made that film and to have waited for it to release due to the Covid-19 lockdowns for those two years. But that being said, the reason why I’ve come into production at that point of time is also because of my love for cinema. I felt like a female centric film and a female shouldered movie was very important at that point of time. Also during Covid-19, I’ve really enjoyed farming. So I’ve gotten myself a piece of land where I’m doing farming, to say the least. I’ve recently invested in the F&B industry with my new restaurant Bellinie & Bae located in Road No 36, Jubilee Hills. I’m looking forward to investing in more businesses and startups and if possible, female led startups. What are your current projects? Right now we’re d o i n g B h o l a Shankar. Starting up next month with Nagarjuna again for Big Boss