Rap style

Stylist Indrakshi Ria Pattanaik has styled several celebrities, but she was never so star struck before until she met M.I.A. and worked with her. “I was watching a film when a producer I had worked with before called to ask if I could style a singer, Maya for a song. I assumed that she must have been a singer from the South,” says Indrakshi. But, when he sent more details, Indrakshi realised he was asking if she would style international rapper M.I.A.

A week later, Indrakshi was on a flight to Ladakh where she shot the video with M.I.A. “We shot in Leh, Ladakh and Mumbai within a week. Though we shot for more than eight looks, currently, only two are visible in the video,” says Indrakshi who adds that they had actually shot for the Freedun video (another song by the rapper) and M.I.A. simply churned two looks out of that footage and turned it into P.O.W.A..

This veil in rapper M.I.A.’s video P.O.W.A. was designed by Hyderabad-based designer Archana Rao

M.I.A., is known not just for her powerful lyrics about women’s rights and political issues, but is also famous for her style. “She is someone who has showcased almost every style out there, so it was a challenge to work on presenting something new. We tried out several designs, but she was very particular. I remember when we showed her one ensemble, she said we couldn’t use it because Rihanna had worn something similar and another dress had the same colour of something that Katy Perry had worn,” she says adding that the rapper had even shown her references of the song Tu Hi Tu that starred Manisha Koirala.

In the song M.I.A. is shown in an orange and a floral jumpsuit, there is one shot where she is seen covering her face with a lavendar veil. “That veil is a sari by Archana Rao, so that’s another Hyderabadi connection in the video!” says Indrakshi who is from Hyderabad. “The rapper has been inspired by several Indian traditions and it shows in her video, for instance, the orange jumpsuit was a reference to fire, the floral pattern was inspired by how we deck up our Goddesses and the veil too was inspired by how we dress up,” says Indrakshi.

M.I.A. wearing an orange jumpsuit designed by Kanika Goyal

While the video has been trending and has got a lot of attention, Indrakshi still can’t believe that she shot with someone as popular as M.I.A.. She says, “I still can’t believe that I worked with her... It feels surreal.”