Character < Film < Individual Artist
But how much styling is too much styling? In one of her interviews with Baradwaj Rangan, Janhvi Kapoor recalled how she has often been asked to dress down for social media or film promotions— especially when it came to films that saw her play girl-next-door roles — to make viewers buy into her character. Disagreeing with this, the actress said, “Janhvi is promoting Mili (2022) and Mili (her character) is not promoting Mili.”
Mallika Singhania, a fashion influencer, asserts that it is an actor’s personal choice, but she believes that a synergy between the film and its promotions always works better. “This helps audiences gauge what the film is about.” Both Eka and Shravya Varma (Vikram’s stylist for Ponniyin Selvan 2 promotions) maintain that characters always take a back seat when they ideate for promotions. Shravya says, “Actors are rarely in their element; they always play different characters and sell different stories. So, these events are when they can be themselves and I try to bring their own personality into the process.”