Festivals have always meant dressing up for Krithi Shetty. There are sarees, jewellery, family rituals and the excitement of putting together a look well before the actual day arrives. It is a habit that goes back to childhood, when she would ask her mother if she could wear her sarees and jewellery, even on her birthdays.
“I love dressing up and I love jewellery and I love everything,” she says.
That love has only grown with age. Shetty, who is now the face of Indriya Jewellery, says her relationship with jewellery has changed considerably as she has grown older. As a younger girl, she was more drawn to modern fashion pieces and statement jewellery that could lift an outfit. Traditional jewellery was something her mother understood better than she did.
“Now, since my transition into womanhood, I’ve come to really value jewellery and the kind of meaning that it holds. Because I feel like our Indian heritage, there’s a reason for everything. And when so much importance is given to gold or jewellery in our traditions itself, it says a lot. And now I think I finally understand the reason behind all this.”
It is this growing appreciation for tradition that makes her association with Indriya feel particularly personal. She had been waiting for a long time to work with a jewellery brand, and says she connected with Indriya because of the way it brings traditional jewellery into a contemporary setting.
“I’ve been waiting for a very, very long time to get associated with a jewellery brand. And I think when Indriya came my way, I was like, the brand, it feels much more personal because I feel like my values and what I like is so similar to the values of the brand. It’s traditional jewellery but reimagined in a modern, contemporary way.”
Her fondness for the brand appears to go beyond the endorsement. She recalls having to select jewellery for a film promotion and struggling to narrow down her choices. “I think I must have taken over a hundred pieces because all of them were so beautiful,” she says. At one point, she found herself choosing jewellery first and then picking outfits that would highlight the pieces.
For festivals, her choices depend on the occasion. She is particularly fond of temple jewellery and polka pieces, although she says the outfit ultimately decides what she wears. For something as auspicious as Diwali, she gravitates towards more traditional pieces, especially jewellery featuring Goddess Lakshmi.
Indriya’s connection with heritage also plays into that choice. Shetty says the brand’s jewellery is inspired by traditional and heritage pieces but reimagined for the modern moment, which makes it easier for her to choose pieces for different occasions.
Diwali, in particular, has its own ritual for her. Around 15 to 20 days before the festival, she starts thinking about her outfit. Then comes the jewellery hunt, usually with her mother. She still does not shop for jewellery alone, partly because she admits she can get carried away.
“I never go jewellery shopping alone. Actually, I never go shopping alone because I think I will go out of control. I’m a little bit of a hoarder, especially with jewellery.”
There is a family connection to many of these choices too. One of her most memorable Indriya moments came during her first shoot for the brand. She spotted a traditional piece and immediately thought of her grandmother.
“My grandmother would love to see me in this. So, I quickly took pictures of it and I sent it to her and I was like, I’m going to buy this piece with you because it just felt like her. It just felt like carrying a piece of her with me because I knew that she would like it.”
That perhaps explains why jewellery has become more than an accessory for Shetty. It connects her to family, childhood memories and a larger cultural inheritance that she says she understands better today.
And then there is the sheer joy of wearing it. Shetty admits she has always loved sarees, even though she still needs her mother’s help to drape one properly. Her childhood dream was to wear her mother’s sarees and jewellery, and that fascination has stayed with her.
It has also found its way into her ambitions as an actor. Shetty says playing a character in a costume drama, particularly one where jewellery and clothing are given as much importance as the character itself, is something she has always wanted to do.
“It’s literally my dream. Like, I’ve always said I want to play the role of a princess wardrobe. Just, I mean, beyond everything. Like, beyond the character and the action and everything. Just the look. I mean, the jewellery and the costume.”
She has apparently gone as far as collecting screenshots and putting together ideas for the kind of looks she would like to explore. Her references include Aishwarya Rai and Rekha, actors whose films made elaborate costumes and jewellery part of the cinematic experience.
For now, her festive wardrobe gives her a smaller version of that pleasure. And with Indriya, she says, she has found a jewellery vocabulary that allows her to move between heritage and contemporary dressing without losing the emotion attached to either.
“I just felt excited to wear them. I was excited to wear this piece and then I got some more outfits according to highlight the beautiful jewellery.”
For Shetty, that excitement seems to be the point. Festivals offer the occasion, the saree sets the mood and jewellery brings the whole memory together. And sometimes, the piece that catches her eye is not simply the one that looks beautiful. It is the one that reminds her of someone she loves.
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