Nikhil Thampi's sassy creations have become a major celebrity favourite and the designers says if he would ever work on a Bollywood movie, that would be of someone like Karan Johar or Mira Nair.
The young designer said these filmmakers match his sensibility, which is contemporary and edgy.
"Working for films has been a big thought process. I have got a couple of offers, but because of prior work commitments I could not take it up. Movie takes six to seven months of your year and that is something I can't invest in right now. I will be doing movies for sure, as I love cinema.
"I will never do something main stream, but something character-oriented. May be, I will do a Mira Nair or Karan Johar film which always touches a soul. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is every designer's dream but that's not possible for me," Nikhil told PTI on the sidelines of Lakme Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2016.
The designer made his runway debut five years back and already holds a long list of celebrity clients but when it comes to his muse, Nikhil feels actress Sonakshi Sinha perfectly defines it.
"My muse is someone, who is aspirational like 'I want to be that woman'. Someone, who knows she is sexy but doesn't want to prove it. In celebrities, Deepika (Padukone), Katrina (Kaif), Kareena (Kapoor) are absolutely dreamy, but for me Sonakshi Sinha works more.
"It's about aspirational value. Like my sister would say 'If Sonakshi can look this good I can also look this good'. She doesn't have a conventional body. She loves her curves and celebrates it. Whenever she wears our clothes, our sales triple," he said.
Even though, Nikhil enjoys a lot of Bollywood endorsement, the designer has his reservations in getting a showstopper as he feels it takes away the limelight from the creator and the creations.
"I have a lot of celebrities wearing my clothes. But they respect and understand the fact that as a public figure they get thousands of platforms to make appearances, but as a designer I only have these fashion weeks to showcase my work.
"There is only one platform for me twice a year and I would rather focus more on my clothes. As a designer I don't want a celeb to get me attention. I am not completely averse the idea though," he said.
Nikhil says working on Indian wear is something he finds
a tough task. However, the designer aspires to come up with a bridal line.
"I have done Indian wear with my conventional metal pieces and embroidery. It was the toughest thing I did in my career. It was a major challenge. But I would absolutely love to come up with a bridal line. It would be a take-two range and not a conventional lehenga-choli.
"We have 30,000 couturiers doing conventional stuff. To make my mark, I would target the small functions like sangeet and cocktail or a pool party. Have bride's friends and sister come to me. I am targeting the youth that's going to be a bride. That's the position I am working on right now," he said.
At a time, when Indian designers aspire to make it to the international platform, Nikhil said he would prefer to stay in India and become a brand first.
"Going to London, Paris or Milan is every designer's dream. I don't want to go international and make a fool of myself. I would rather create a brand domestically first and take it gradually. I have not studied fashion at all.
"There is no knowledge, I learned at job. For me, to experiment and understand what am I doing takes long time," he said.
