Kirti Kulhari on playing Baluchi Jannat
KIRTI KULHARI SAYS getting costumes right in a project is very crucial, as they bring authenticity.
“The character’s look has to really go with the image of the character you have in mind and I think if the costumes are right that connection happens more easily,” Kirti said.
Kirti will be seen as Jannat, who hails from Balochistan, in The Bard Of Blood.
Even though the show is based on Bilal Siddiqui’s book, the character of Jannat has been written into the show especially and was not part of the novel. Talking about getting into the role, she said: “In Jannat’s case, there’s a clear separation between the past and the present and you are showing a passage of time and with the passage of time, the person also changes through the costumes. When we see Jannat in the past there from shot on location in Ladakh are these pastels, softer colours, the material is more chiffon which is showing the audience the Jannat at a time when things were different, where she was probably more easy-going, fun-loving, and then you see her in the present – the colours have gone darker and she is more earthy which shows she has become grounded, she has become mature, she is wiser.
“The glamour has faded and she is focused on more important things in life right now, handling a lot of difficult things. This change in the texture and colour of the costumes speak a lot about Jannat’s life.”
Kirti also had to get that Baluchi accent to bring authenticity to the character.
“We had Urdu dialect people on board and people who have also helped with the Baluchi accent.”
“It is definitely a lot more work, that’s for sure,” he said about making a series rather than movie. “It is like shooting three films: seven episodes each 45-minutes long. It was a huge challenge. But in many ways it was very positive. For any performer it is a gift to play a bigger character arc to the usual three-hour movie. Netflix are the best at it. They were leading the way because it was our first time. It helped us stay on the path.”
But if he had to narrow it down? What was the toughest aspect? “We couldn’t actually go shoot in Balochistan, so we shot in Ladakh. It is at a very high altitude and has erratic weather. That was testing for everyone.”