With a dozen movies on hand, the top stars on her speed dial and her own brand coming up in the New Year, uber fashionable stylist Neeraja Kona talks about her rise in the industry and how is proud to be the reason behind the changing face of Tollywood
HYDERABAD:In the battle of vogue, she is the sovereign who stepped in to save all the combatants who were losing the war to fashion faux pas. In the business of style, she is the authority in South India. If not for Neeraja Kona, the credential of costume designer on screen wouldn’t have changed to stylist. She got top designers such as Sabyasachi, Anitha Dongre, Anamika Khanna, Gauri and Nainika and many others to visualise their exquisite collections on Telugu stars too.
The simple and elegant Kona gives us a convincing reason on why stylist is the word. “Stylist is more than a costume designer. We work with multiple designers. When I am just designing the clothes, costume designer is fine. When I am getting experts from Mumbai for outfits, makeup, hair style, accessories and much more, stylist should be the word,” she explains.
Neeraja got introduced to Tollywood after she returned home from the US with dual majors in marketing and fashion. “I used to work as marketing manager for Michael Kors, Los Angeles. I knew I wanted to do something in fashion. When I got an offer from Vogue, Mumbai, I came back to India. That is when my brother Kona Venkat, a successful writer in the Telugu industry, suggested that I work with him in the industry.
I was excited as he was working on NTR’s Badshah at that time and Sreenu Vaitla agreed. Sreenu’v wife Rupa Vaitla and Ashwin were already onboard . I started assisting them by running errands, pulling references and so on. Meanwhile, actor Nitin was working on Gundejari Gallante. He gave me the freedom to do much more and allowed me to work on songs and looks on my own,” she recalls.
Well, that was just a trailer. The real picture began when she partnered with two stars of Tollywood. “Samantha was looking for a new stylist and by the time I knew it, it was Samantha, Nitin and I,” she laughs with love sparkling in her eyes.
“Our work/friendship became so much fun for me that I figured this was my true calling,” she adds.
Neeraja observed how Bollywood celebs were styled for every public appearance like events, press meets, promotions and award ceremonies. She researched, made calls and sourced out information how styling is done up there.
“I styled Sam for her ‘Attarintiki Daredi’s’ audio launch. She looked fabulous and people started asking who styled her. They were fascinated about our combo. I think people enjoyed the fact that there were two girls who as friends are translating what they like on-screen and off-screen. I never expected things to work out so fast. I was working on nine movies in the first year, 11 in the second year and six in the third year. After that, I had my baby. Now I am 26 films old,” she narrates.
She redefined style by incorporating Valentino, Gucci, Jimmy Cho in her works. She thanks her international exposure. “I have interned for Louis Vuitton, worked for Michael Kors, studied in London for six months in London College of Fashion. I have always followed fashion, be it High Heels or Pink Villa and knew what was happening around the world. I saw that south celebrities, despite having access to these brands, were unaware and what started off as an assignment for Sam and I, became a trend,” she elucidates.
“I had to call these designers and convince them that these girls are stars down south. But now, they call me on a first name basis asking when is the next assignment, when are you going to dress them up? They also give me each year’s fashion handbook and bag of goodies. Now they know these girls by their names and have put in an effort to know who these girls are, what work they have done and so on. We have become a common name on High Heel confidential, Pink Villa. They have opened their doors to south clientele,” she beams.
Another big news is that she is all braced up to launch her own brand which is going to have more of cotton, hand woven and hand printed, which is close to Neeraja’s heart.
They say if you are passionate, you wouldn’t have to work a day. It assumes more connotations to Neeraja, who worked even during her labour. “I hold a green card. I wanted my baby to be born there to avoid citizenship hassles. I was in the US during delivery. I used to be up all night during my pregnancy as it used to be day time in India. I was on the phone till about 3 am. I was styling Rakul Preet Singh, Ramya Krishnan and coordinating with the photographers. In half-a-days’ time, I had my baby,” she laughs.
Neeraja’s baby Ansh is more popular than her on social media. Let alone virtual media, even on the sets, he is the star. “He recognises Sam on TV, tried to stand and stares at her when her songs play on TV. He really likes women, he’s a ladies man. Once when Nitin carried him, he started crying. But, when Rakul and Sam carry him, he just enjoys it,” Neeraja proudly shares about her social and friendly baby.
With her presence on sets, we wondered if she was not offered to be in front of the camera. Says Neeraja, “In Oka Laila Kosam, I appeared on screen for a few seconds. I am never going back in front of the camera. I just had to stand there for the introductory scene, with no dialogues and I was sweating.”
Another not-so-known side of Neeraja is that she is a traveller and entrepreneur. “I like to travel solo and have been o 35 countries. I am a huge foodie. I love eating, cooking, baking which is one of the reason T-Grill happened. Nitin and I decided we will take the rights for the franchise. Then we become partners and we have the location closer to Banjara and Jubilee Hills crowd as the first one is in Gachibowli. This was something I have always dreamt of. I wanted to open a bakery a long time ago,” she adds.