Raees: Here's how Shah Rukh Khan reacted when he was asked to apply kohl

Shah Rukh Khan's menacing look in Raees is being loved and appreciated by his fans. Not very surprisingly, quite a bit of research went into creating it.

Talking to Mid-day, stylist Sheetal Sharma said that he was apprehensive about recommending the glasses and kohl for the character, but Khan readily agreed. From the choices the actor was given (in spectacles), he picked out the one that wasn't aligned properly and which was bought from Chor Bazaar.

Based on the brief given to him, Sharma thought the gritty, manipulative Raees would look best with some surma (kohl) on. However, he wasn't sure if Khan would be game for it, but the superstar approved of the idea readily.

Khan wanted the clothes to be as "organic" as possible, which made Sharma browse old photo albums of his Gujarati friends. "I wanted to know how their grandparents dressed. I have used terricot, teriwool and velvet fabrics, which are not used anymore. I shopped for it from Ahmedabad, Surat and Junagarh. SRK would wear them, stretch in them, sit in them and say 'let them take the shape of my body,'" the leading daily quoted Sharma as saying.

Also, in the posters and trailer, he is seen wearing a locket, which belongs to Khan and has photos of his parents and an aayat (verse) from Quran inscribed. However, earlier the team thought of adding a taweez (pendant/ locket) around the arms, but the idea was later dropped as it came off as a clichéd one.

Directed by Rahul Dholakia, Raees is scheduled to be released on January 25.