Suggested Topics :
Interview | Vikram Phadnis On Celebrating 35 Years and Making His Hindi Film Debut
With a legacy that spans Naomi Campbell to Marathi cinema, the fashion-turned-costume designer and now film director opens up about his upcoming fashion show and Hindi movie debut.
If you’ve been anywhere near the world of Indian fashion or film in the last three decades, you’ve definitely brushed past the legacy of Vikram Phadnis—even if you didn’t know it.
From choreographing professional runway shows in college to dressing Urmila in her pre-Rangeela days, sharing planes with supermodels, styling Naomi Campbell and Salman Khan, and now, writing award-winning regional films—Phadnis is, quite certainly, the jack of all trades.
“There was no social media, no stylists, no PR paraphernalia back then—just talent and real friendships,” Phadnis recalls, with a clarity that only someone who’s survived the changing tides of fame can claim.
“Now, one actor has eight designers and seven stylists. Back then, we were family.” It’s this sentiment that underscores his career across industries, and ensures he's never distracted by the noise.
He admits he’s “not the designer who does high-end weddings,” but proudly owns his label’s aspirational value—affordable designer wear with a real market. And his filmography echoes that honesty. His Marathi films Hrudayantar and Smile Please tackled multiple myeloma and dementia—subjects Bollywood usually sweeps under the red carpet. The latter even won him the state award for Best Director and Best Film, and is now being remade in Hindi as his next big move. “It's now or never,” he says, eyes locked on a 2026 release.
Of course, he’s never been one to follow the crowd. “I’ve lost projects because someone saw my Instagram follower count and wanted someone ‘bigger’. But I still travel, I still eat great meals, I still sell clothes, I still make films.” You can hear the shrug in his voice—unbothered, unfiltered, unfazed.
And now, on October 14, the designer celebrates 35 years in the industry with a fashion show featuring 100 models and reimagined archival pieces with a 'Vintage India' theme. But on October 15? He starts pre-production for his Hindi film. No break, no distractions. Just the next story he’s burning to tell.
Excerpts from the conversation.
THR INDIA: Congratulations on completing 35 years in fashion. How did you step into this field?
Vikram Phadnis: I was a student of science, and my parents are doctors. When I started fashion choreography at a professional level, I was still in college. While I was graduating, I got my first show with the biggest names in the business — [models] Deepak Malhotra, Lubna Adams, Shyamoli Varma, Madhu Sapre, Mehr Jesia, Namrata Shirodkar. I didn't know that this would end up being a full-fledged career. Then, [In 1991], I launched my first collection — a capsule one. I wasn’t trained and it was one thing snowballing into another. There was a fear, not of being accepted but wondering if this was the right way to go about it. But I've always known what league I come in and I don't challenge that. I know that I don't do high-end weddings, but I'm a designer of demand and supply. I do affordable designer clothing, a market I identified a long time ago. Soon after, in 1996, I did my first Hindi film, Hindustani, with [actors] Kamal Haasan, Urmila and Manisha Koirala.
THR INDIA: Do you remember the first time you were on a film set?
VP: Yes, it was in Chennai with [director] S. Shankar who made Robot (2010) with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. There was a song called 'Tara' being shot on my first day on set. It was just a very different experience. But I just knew that I was going to go back to Mumbai and make this into a career. Now, I'm a regional film director about to make my first Hindi film which starts shooting on December 15.
THR INDIA: How did people around you react every time you decided to switch to a new career path?
VP: When I did choreography, I didn't know I'd become a designer. But when I was working on stage lights, sound, and working with fabrics and embroidery, I thought that was my calling. It was too late to go to a fashion school, so I learned by watching MTV, FTV and understanding Indian heritage. I realised we were aping the West, so I only do Indian clothes. I became a mainstream designer and when I started, there were hardly eight of us in the entire country. I then got into costumes by default, but gave up after Salaam-E-Ishq (2007) to make films. My father, and so many actors that I used to work with asked me why, saying I had become famous and would make good money. I realised, when I gave this up, that I may become less famous and less relevant but one has to identify what one wants in life. And I wanted to tell stories. When I was designing costumes, I used to stand behind the camera and understand the technicalities of what goes in a filmmaker's mind.
THR INDIA: You worked with some of the biggest directors in the industry while doing costumes. Did their techniques influenced yours today?
VP: I've worked with Abbas-Mustan, David Dhawan, R. Balki. I also love the worlds created by Mahesh Bhatt, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Zoya Akhtar. I realised after being a technician [as a costume designer] behind the camera, and working with some of the biggest directors and actors in the business, that it is all about storytelling. So, I've written both my films myself. My first, Hrudayantar (2017), was on multiple myeloma, while my second, Smile Please (2019), was about dementia. I'm not writing glossy, commercial candy floss films yet because I need to earn my credibility as a storyteller, a director. It's in my mother tongue, Marathi, because I'm a Maharashtrian and I'm comfortable with the language. Smile Please won the state awards and that is what I am remaking in Hindi as my debut. Both my films in Marathi have been super hits but I realised that if I wanted to enter Hindi cinema, it was now or never.
THR INDIA: What is it like to remake your own film?
VP: I've changed the dynamics of the relationships and there are some other differences but I know it's going to touch every chord. It's based on a universal emotion. I have no formal training in screenplay writing. When I wrote Hrudayantar, I wrote a storyline and then I went to a dialogue writer with the synopsis. I realised that if I'm going to direct, I'd rather direct stories I want to tell.
THR INDIA: In fashion, you've worked with Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, international cricketers, and even Naomi Campbell. What was that like, and whom do you want to cast in your Hindi film debut?
VP: Those days I was floating. I used to literally live in an aircraft. I would pack and unpack. When I gave it up, everybody thought I disappeared. But I didn't. Right now, the casting for my Hindi film is on-going, and it's being done by [casting director] Nandini Shrikant, who does all of Zoya Akhtar's films. I love the way she creates the world. I don't have a particular actor in mind because the story comes first, then the characters come into play. Only once the role is written can you see who's in the market, has those dates, wants to do it and is on the same plane as you. If you write with a actor in mind and they say no, then what?
THR INDIA: Having worked in film and fashion for more than 30 years, have you never felt the need to have a larger social media presence?
VP: I haven't lost a single night's sleep thinking about that. Everybody has told me to [be more active on social media] and I have lost offers too; with people saying they want Vikram Phadnis to do something and then seeing my 122K followers and deciding to go with someone 'bigger'. But one's digital presence doesn't define their relevance. If I keep [harping on] what other designers are doing, why one person is getting clicked everywhere, and why their media presence is in millions, my mental health will go for a toss. I have never posted a picture with an actor that I'm having dinner with. It's easy to pay a social media manager and tell them which flight I'm taking or which restaurant I'm leaving. But it doesn't bother me. I still eat great meals. I still travel the world. I still sell clothes. I still make films. I've only hired a PR person twice; once when I completed 25 years and now. It's project-based.
THR INDIA: Besides the trappings of digital media, what's another misconception people have about the film and fashion industry?
VP: When people tell you not to micromanage and delegate instead. It's not true for me. I love micromanaging. The job doesn't get done just because I've arrived. What years of being a choreographer, designer and now, a filmmaker has taught me is to be present in everything. I don't take anything for granted because you're best known for the last job done. Mine is not a bought-out brand. I don't have a family member who runs my business. Every other [major] designer in the country has one, whether its Sabyasachi, Manish Malhotra, Abu Jani, Sandeep Khosla, Tarun Tahiliani, JJ Valaya, Rohit Bal. But Vikram Phadnis runs because Vikram Phadnis is there.