A decade ago, as Kancha Cheena in Agneepath (2012), he had shown Bollywood the power of a menacing villain. If the recent trailer of KGF: Chapter 2 is any indication, Sanjay Dutt is ready to up the ante with his portrayal of Adheera, the won’t-stop-at-anything antagonist who commands his army to take on Rocky, essayed by Yash. While the lavish scale of the film — also starring Prakash Raj, Raveena Tandon and Srinidhi Shetty — has generated buzz on social media, netizens are also intrigued by Dutt’s unusual look, complete with a fur cape, armour, multiple tattoos and heavily kohled eyes.
Sanjay Dutt sports cornrow braids in the film as the menacing antagonist
Stylist Naveen Shetty says that as soon as he was introduced to Adheera’s world, he knew that the character had to have an intimidating air. “We knew that Baba [Dutt] had to have a larger-than-life look. So, we brainstormed and took the styling a step ahead. The idea was to convey, through his clothes, that this guy is eccentric and unpredictable,” says Shetty. It helped that Dutt was game to experiment with his look, knowing that the right avatar would only aid in making Adheera an indelible villain. “Baba wanted to go all out. It was an excruciating shoot. We would take an hour to lock the look daily. He would shoot every day, wearing the armour that weighed 25 kilos. This was in addition to a lot of metal chains that [he sported]. Yet, at no point would you find him low on energy or irritable.”
It is easy to see that the styling is influenced by the grunge looks served on Game of Thrones and Vikings. The stylist says that after several rounds of brainstorming with director Prashanth Neel, they arrived at a unanimous idea — “a vintage rugged look”. “[For the outfits], we used leather and suede, and a mix of cotton and jute. The tattoos were Baba’s idea. We used a lot of faux fur in the climax. Vintage tie-and-dye scarves were used as towels for the character. All this signifies the kind of man he is. He isn’t minimalistic; everything about him is edgy and over-the-top.”
