‘A lot of historical research was done for this project’
For any designer, debuting with renowned filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali would be a dream come true project. And it happened with the designer duo Rimple and Harpreet Narula. As the designers are heading for their big Bollywood debut, this is the very first time they foray into costume designing for the leading cast of a film. And this debut couldn’t be better than Bhansali’s most awaited film Padmavati which revolves around Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khilji and Rajput queen Rani Padmavati.
Padmavati has been Bhansali’s biggest historical project since years and it is finally going into production. For his dream project he wanted utmost authenticity in the looks of the leading cast — Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh.
Known for his larger than life productions and keen eye for details, the ace filmmaker had auditioned leading Indian designers before he found one that matched his expectations. But it was no easy for the designers to bag this film. It was a long process.
“Our collections have always been research based, digging into the vast archive that is found in our cultural and textile heritage and reinterpreting centuries old techniques. Bhansali’s latest venture deals with royalties of 13th century India and he saw in us the potential to create looks imbibing the essence of history, travel and royalty. We got a call from his office for an initial meeting and instead of taking our existing work we did some research on Rani Padmavati and pulled out various old textiles from our personal collection which we thought would make interesting points of reference. The whole meeting went off quite well with some impromptu look tests using those textiles we did with Bhansali and during the course of the meeting it became apparent that we were in sync with his vision and what he was looking for in terms of costumes,” says Harpreet.
As Padmavati is a historical project, a lot of research went through for this project. Since it is a period piece, the designers had to be extra careful when it comes to maintaining the authenticity of the costumes for it is an extremely challenging task to envision and design garments as they were worn by the royals back then as not much is documented of the same. Keeping that in mind they have done intensive research on the period by way of going through old travelers’ accounts from that era as well as regular visits to the Calico and Jaipur museums to get the touch-feel-look right.
The duo designers also read some of the specific works of historian for designing the costumes for actors. Harpreet says, “We went through books such as The Wonder That Was India Volume 1 by Arthur Llewellyn Basham which documents India before the Sultanate rule and it’s Volume 2 by S.A.A. Rizvi which covers the Islamic period as well as other books by noted historians such as Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, John Keay and the writings of the 16th century historian Abd-ulQadir Bada’uni.”
But designing outfits for a period film as compared to design a normal outfit is different. Rimple says, “As designers, we have always come up with collections that have a story to tell, there is a metaphorical muse that inspires the design process which is layered with romanticism and nostalgia. Working on a project like this is quite challenging as the clothes have to bring to life the personas of these historical figures, the cultural influences as well as maintaining the authenticity of period. Much like working on a couture collection, these characters have become our muses and the entire process has to be in sync with the director’s ultimate vision.”
When it comes to designing such outfits, there are certain key elements that need to be kept in mind. Harpreet explains, “As there were no man-made fibres at that time nor was sericulture prevalent in the sub-continent, we have avoided using silk or other Chinese substitutes and only used organic cottons and muls along with traditional decorative arts and techniques such as block printing and Varq ka kaam that were prevalent then. Apart from getting these cultural and period references right, we had to come up with signature looks for all three main characters that would define their personas and leave an indelible mark on the audience.”
Also working with the renowned director was an inspirational experience for both the designers. “He is a master of his craft, a perfectionist with a great eye for detail as we all know. The process of creating the costumes for the project has been of constant evolution, a new learning experience every day. It is interesting for us as designers how our perception of drama in clothes has also undergone a change while working on the project,” says Rimple.