There is no gender bias in Bollywood: Shyamli

Costume designer Shyamli, who had styled John Abraham in 'Force' and the upcoming 'Desi Boyz', says there has never been a gender bias in Bollywood."Even though most of the famous names as (costume) designers are male, the number of women stylists joining the bandwagon have been more in recent years," Shyamli told PTI.

"It is the work that matters and not who you are. I have never experienced gender bias in my first film with an experienced director Raj Kumar Santoshi for 'Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani' and a newcomer director Rohit Dhawan for 'Desi Boyz'," she said.Shyamli has styled John Abraham, Anupam Kher and Omi Vaidya for 'Desi Boyz'.

"I am working with John for the second time after 'Force', which was a realistic kind of movie, in which the actor plays a narcotics cop. While in 'Desi Boyz', John's character is younger and trendier. It has been a refreshing change for John," she added.

According to Shyamli, styling was all about adding a 'look' to the director's vision. "Earlier, clothes mattered only for the actors or actresses to look good on screen. These days, genre of movies is more realistic and characters look believable. stylists are involved in the film right from the script-reading stage, when the look of the character is designed. This change is refreshing," she said.

Actors' comfort is also taken into consideration and sometimes, stylists have to push the boundaries a little, to persuade the actors the need for the kind of look that has been designed, she added.Shyamli said that John has two different looks in 'Desi Boyz'.

"The first half will see the actor as a banker with a Wall Street kind of sleek and corporate look. In the second half, his character undergoes a sea change. Omi Vaidya is 'nerd chic', but not geeky and he has not done such a role earlier. Anupam Kher plays Deepika Padukone's father, who is a happy-go-lucky fun character. So like him, the clothes are also over the top and flamboyant," she added.