Besides a celebrity’s wife, guess who else knows a star up close and intimately?
It’s the star’s designer! The designer knows it all – the shoe size, the colour of his hair, his likes and dislikes and even when he loses a kilo or puts on an inch.
Naresh Rohira (of Masculine in Juhu) has been superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s favourite designer for the past 20 years, ever since the actor casually strolled into his shop as Hema Malini’s new discovery.
“It is still so clear in my mind the day Shah Rukh Khan came to my store,” muses Naresh dreamily. “He was shooting those days for Hema Malini’s film Dil Aashna Hai.
He called me and walked into the shop, dressed in jeans with his shirt half tucked in and half hanging out. His trademark style. I took his measurement, he sat reading a newspaper and smoking.”
From that day to 2010, two decades later, Shah Rukh Khan’s measurements haven’t changed! “Except in the last two years when he was shooting for Ra.One and lost weight for it,” reveals the man who’s privy to such minute details about SRK. “During Dil Aashna Hai he got married and asked me to make a suit for him.
I made a black tuxedo and sent it to Delhi. He came back, met me and announced, ‘From now onwards you’ll be making all my outfits regularly’. It’s been 20 years and I am still with him. His loyalty towards his people is strong. Like me, his makeup guy, Ravi dada and Subhash dada, his right-hand man, have all been with him for years.”
Is Shah Rukh fastidious about what he wears? Is he aware of the latest trends in fashion and does he prompt Naresh towards the designs he wants? “He is the most non-fussy person I know,” says Naresh. “He likes to wear only black, will not wear any other colours.
He loves tuxedos and I have made more than 1000 suits for him, all in black with a white shirt inside. I have failed to make him wear colours like blue and grey. What he is very particular about are his jeans. They are only in various shades of blue. And he is particular when it comes to his films, the clothes should go with his character. Otherwise he is easy and non-fussy with his personal wardrobe.
Give him his favourite colours and he will wear whatever you give him. He also repeats his outfits easily and without a fuss. Before he goes to any function, I go to his house and choose his outfit.
When he was shooting in Berlin for Don 2, he asked me to send him suits for some functions he had to attend there and I sent them from here. Whatever boss (SRK) wears is made by us,” Naresh crows with evident pride. “I have a room downstairs in my shop which has jackets and other clothes exclusively for him. At home he is always in jeans, tees and sports shoes. He never wears shorts or chappals.”
For Eid this year, SRK had tweeted that he wanted his son Aryan to wear a sherwani. Did Naresh manage to come up with something suitable? “Oh yes,” he replies with alacrity. “I made both the sherwanis (for dad and son) in the same colour (black of course) and the same fabric.
I have told Shah Rukh that my son will make Aryan’s clothes at Masculine. For me, Masculine is Shah Rukh Khan. Even the bandhgala he wore for the Raavan premiere in London was made by us.”
Naresh has no insecurities when some of SRK’s film costumes are made by other designers. As he explains, “See, I only do men’s outfits and I have a business to run. I can’t always be on the sets, sit with the directors or travel to shoots. Over the years, the film business has changed. Designers do both male and female costumes. However, even if his films have other designers, all of boss’s costumes have to go through me.
I know his measurements, his moods, likes and dislikes. Just sometime back, his designer for a film came and ordered T-shirts. I told him that SRK does not wear short tees, he wears a particular length, but he refused to listen to me. When the tees were given to Shah Rukh at the shoot, boss saw the length and we had to bring the tees to his right size.
“I remember a very funny incident,” he goes on. “A whole lot of stuff had gone for him for a shooting and I didn’t check his shoes.
Fast Facts On SRK
His shoe-size is 9
Height 5’ 10”
Collar size 15 ¼”
He only wears an Italian brand called AG jeans
You’ll never catch him in shorts or chappals
Shah Rukh doesn’t like to use accessories. It’s just his Tag Heur watch
His sunglasses are from Tom Ford
I got a call to rush to his sets. When I went to his van, he had worn the shoes but the sizes were different, one was 9 and the other was 8! He wasn’t angry but joked, ‘Main pehen leta hoon, ek 8 hain ek 9 hai. It’s like Ajit wore in Yaadon Ki Baraat. This will start a trend.’ It was funny and I quickly arranged the right size!”
It’s said that his wife Gauri has a strong hand in deciding what SRK wears. Naresh happily concedes, “Gauri helped me a lot in the beginning when I started working for boss. She used to do his costumes and she gave me a lot of inputs which helped me. Now she is not involved in his clothes.
It’s between me and Shah Rukh. Karan Johar is also a great help and comes up with valuable suggestions. I have learnt a lot from him. Shah Rukh loves Italian shoes in tan, brown and black. At night he wears tracks and tees. He is basically a jeans and shirt guy.”
If all this paints the picture of an affable superstar not obsessed with his wardrobe, you’re dead right. His staff finds Shah Rukh easy to approach and humane. “Oh yes,” nods Naresh. “He knows their problems and tries to help them as much as possible. He’s really a down-to-earth guy.”
How many times has Shah Rukh visited the store in Juhu? “After I got the shop renovated, I had a puja and called him, but he was busy shooting. He told me to go ahead with the puja, as work is worship. Once he is back he will come here. I work for the best man in the business and I am happy!”
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