BENGALURU:  Calendars featuring film stars and celebrities is no longer a trend restricted to Bollywood. After Chennai-based photographer Venket Ram’s calendar featuring South Indian film actors in looks inspired by Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings garnered a lot of attention, comes yet another one. And this time, it’s closer home. Celebrity designer Laxmi Krishna has recently launched a fashion calender featuring Sandalwood actresses.

This calendar is the second release of the Laxmi Krishna Label, says the designer. “Last year, it was more about fantasy gowns, but this year I wanted to experiment with the saree,” says Krishna, who is usually known for her western wear. Through her latest collection, she wants to break the stereotype, and says all her designs that have been featured in the calender are one of a kind. “My designs do not follow the conventional thumb rule of fashion that is usually used for the saree. For example, Radhika Narayan is wearing an organza saree with a fur blouse, while for Pavana Gowda I have given a complete comic print saree,” says Krishna, adding that her personal favourite is the denim saree with denim blouse worn by Archana Jois. Krishna’s latest collection also uses a lot of fur, frills and sequins. 

The 33-year-old designer adds that she wanted to give all the actresses a look that is completely different from their reel characters. “Most of the actresses who are featured have a very girl-next-door image. I tried to come out of that too. And the response has been good. Archana Jois, who plays Yash’s mother in KGF Chapter 1, said she really had to convince people that she is the one who has been photographed in the calender,” laughs Krishna. 

The calender was launched recently by actress Priyanka Upendra. Apart from the fact that it exclusively features Sandalwood actresses, the calender carries another unique factor. It spans from March 2020 to February 2021. “Usually everyone follows the English calender, which is from January to December. But for Kannadigas, the New Year starts from Ugadi in March,” adds Krishna, who also works as a stylist in Kannada and Tamil films, and as a human resource consultant in an IT company. “I was living in London with my husband and son, when I used to post pictures of my fashion styling, just for fun. I was then noticed by Kannada film director Muthu, who offered me a chance to style five actresses who are part of the movie, Lisa. The movie is going to be released by April-end,” says Krishna. 

Face of the month
2020 March Sindhu Loknath
April Aditi Prabhudeva 
May Paavana Gowda
June Divya Uruduga
July Sreeleela
August Samridhi Ram
September Archana Jois
October Karunya Ram
November Radhika Narayan
December Vaishnavi Gowda
2021 January
Kavitha Gowda
February
Karunya Ram