Talisman

A friend of ours recently interviewed Aishwariyaa Bhaskaran (of ‘Abhiyum Naanum’ fame) after she got her 6th tattoo from us. Here are some excerpts from their conversation…

What drew you to tattoos?

“Well, I’m a product of the 60s and 70s – a generation of hippies and bikers and punk rockers. All the bands we knew of were tattooed. So it was that western influence.

But I also feel that tattoos are an expression of art on oneself. Something you’d like to keep. For example I have a tattoo in memory of my grandmother who died of breast cancer; so every time I see it, I remember her, as well as my support for the breast cancer movement. In fact, I used to play the base guitar and the keyboard through school and college and want to get tattoos of those.”

Do you think that tattoos have become more mainstream now?

“Well, an IT friend of mine got a Gemini tattoo and he’s a normal guy who works in a proper office and wears a tie to work every day. And his wife, who is in HR, actually encouraged him. ”

How did you come across Amar and Nisha?

“When I was looking for somewhere to get my first tattoo, a lot of people gave me options; but thank God I didn’t listen to them. I didn’t like the places – their cleanliness or anything about them. There is a lot of technicality to tattooing so it’s not like any guy with gun and ink in his hand can do it. I’m a film artist and my tattoos show on screen.  I don’t want someone experimenting and using me as a guinea pig!

Luckily for me, at that point my daughter told me about Amar and Nisha (who were working at Irezumi at the time); so that’s how I met them.”

What was your tattoo experience like?

“Well there was something about Amar that was so calming and reassuring. He was very professional and took me through all of the steps involved in tattooing. He even ran an experimental needle so I’d know how it would feel.

Basically, I knew that I could trust that his work would be clean and that he would NOT make me look ugly. Even if you come in with weird ideas, he’ll be straightforward with his opinion. He’ll tell you which colours will look good on you and which won’t. He knows what will work for your skin and body type.”

Can you give me an example?

“Well, I had asked him to use maroon on my tattoo but he suggested red instead. And if he hadn’t, then I’d have got maroon and would have been cursing in the end. You should be able to trust your tattoo artist and Amar is top notch.”

Did you choose from their portfolio of flash tattoos or did you get a custom-designed tattoo?

“All my tattoos are custom-designed. And the great thing is that Amar gives you options. For example, if I tell him that I want a tattoo design with a base guitar, keyboard, veena, and some musical notes, he’ll come up with 10 options for me to choose from. It’s important that a tattoo artist is an artist first. He should be able to take an idea, conceptualize it, design it by hand, and execute the design. And Amar is great at that!

Also, you’ll find that his work is very distinctive. There was a foreigner who had an anklet tattoo that I thought looked so beautiful and when I asked her who did it, she said it was Amar.”

Did you feel much pain while being tattooed?

“I actually fell asleep while they were tattooing me. After delivering a child, tattooing is nothing! It’s actually very nice. And it’s a very addictive pain.”

You said you had a hard time finding a tattoo artist initially. Have you come across any other good ones since your first tattoo?

“There’s one guy in Bombay who’s very good. But in Chennai there is no-one better than Amar. In fact, it’s an open challenge … for anybody to come and tattoo as well as Amar, leaving your skin to heal so beautifully. I think his work is along the lines of the guys at LA Ink and Miami Ink. I have friends from Goa who come to Chennai just to get tattoos from Amar … and the 2 of them have 9 tattoos so far!

Now that he’s branched out separately, I’m all out to support him; because it’s not about the place … you can have a fancy place but the guy doing your tattoo has to be good. And Amar is definitely good! ”

Tags: Aishwariyaa Bhaskaran, Celebrity tattoo, Kollywood