Actress Sagarika Ghatge on Akutee: I want to make our traditional design and timeless beauty accessible to all The Chak De! India-famous Bollywood actress Sagarika Ghatge feels highly passionate about her fashion brand, Akutee, which offers a wide range of clothing lines, including handloom sarees, hand-painted by her mother

Even though in a Shah Rukh Khan starrer film, the audience hardly gets a chance to take their eyes off of SRK, Chak De! India was perhaps one of the films where every female character was equally noticed because of their distinct presence and dialogues. The character of Preeti Sabarwal, played by Sagarika Ghatge, was such a memorable one! Now that the actress has started her entrepreneurial journey with her clothing line, Akutee, we sat down with the artist to decode her vision behind her passion project, which is soon to become a profitable business and empower many artisans.

A mother's passion, a daughter's vision: The brand Akutee is offering an array of sarees and dresses that are hand-painted with intricate designs following a traditional style that has been re-created in Sagarika's family wardrobe. Coming from the linage of two of the royal families of India (the Kagal family of Kolhapur and family of HH Tukojirao Holkar III of Indore), Sagarika already had a great exposure to royal dressing. But the core inspiration for Akutee came from her mother's painting skills. As she shared, "It perhaps came from my childhood memory when I saw my mother painting these beautiful flowers on her garments, especially on her saree. My mother has had a huge passion for gardening since she was 16 years old. So growing up, I have seen how all the beautiful flowers blooming in the garden will invariably appear on my mother's garments a few days later because she will paint them all."

So, she thought of transforming her mother's passion into a clothing line that gives access to such beautiful hand-painted garments to everyone who wants to cherish the effort of an artist.

A brand for timeless fashion, not seasonal trends: Living in a time where fashion icons and celebrities indulge in consumerism and keep their wardrobes updated to stay in trend, according to Sagarika, Akutee is focusing on being timeless fashion and owning a garment that can be passed down to the next generation.

She explained, "I look at fashion as a form of self-expression. For me, fashion is not about just shopping for new clothes; it is about having a garment that is timeless. Akutee is also about celebrating timeless fashion. Since the signature on our clothes is hand-painted, it takes time. My mother is painting those garments, and now she is also mentoring a group of artists, which is also very empowering. So eventually, when you are wearing the cloth, you are becoming part of the story, which started in the imagination of an artist."

Investing in people rather than just finance: Though starting any entrepreneurial venture demands a certain amount of financial investment, according to Sagarika, in the last year, they have had a sufficient amount to support her passion. She is rather focused on building the core team that can run the show and submit to her vision.

The actress shared, "The more important investment is in the people who are going to run the show and understand my vision for the brand. For our Akutee, all the designs are from the past, from the sarees and dresses of my grandmother and mother. My mother is creating more designs, and the core idea is to take the designs and motifs from the past and make them accessible for the future. Apart from the designs of my family, we are also travelling to various parts of the country like Varanasi, Bihar, and Rajasthan and bringing back the traditional designs and hand embroidery of zari, kalamkari, etc. so that the old patterns are still alive and can be nurtured by the future generation."

"When it comes to financial investment, so far, whatever we put in initially, we are good with it. In the future, when we expand it further, we will talk about the numbers," she further added.

Holding on to authenticity: Being an actress, fashion and makeup have always been a part of Sagarika's life. But it is undeniable how the dressing up and on-screen image of any individual become a representation of a community and country at large. As the actress is also married to one of the most successful former Indian cricketers, Zaheer Khan, she elaborates on the importance of celebrating Indian stories, especially on a global platform.

"I think today people are more aware of our culture than ever before. But when it comes to representation, we must hold on to our story and authenticity. Our strength is our handicraft, our textile heritage, and our painting. So when we see an Indian woman wearing a handloom on-screen (in a film or in media), it is very authentic of us, and whether in cinema or in sports, we have our story of achievement, and holding on to that authenticity makes us who we are on the global platform," said the actress.