‘Still asked about Anushka’s ghagra’
Costume designer Payal Saluja has worked on the looks of Madhuri Dixit, Huma Qureshi, Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi for the upcoming Dedh Ishqiya. Her previous work includes films like Raanjhanaa, Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola, 7 Khoon Maaf and more.
“I always read the script first, understand the back-story, keep the actors’ body type in mind, understand the director’s vision and profile. I also believe that the costumes, hair and make-up must support a film, not overpower it,” Payal tells us about her approach to styling.
With respect to Dedh Ishqiya, she says the styling reflects the film’s setting — Lucknow, with its undertone of music and poetry. “It was wonderful working with Madhuri for the first time,” she adds.
Payal also counts as satisfying, the experience of styling Sonam Kapoor in Raanjhana. “Sonam was ready to experiment. Be it the frill on her skirts, puff sleeves and later the kurtas which girls in the North wear, she agreed to it all. I wanted to keep the look simple. In some films, even small-town women are always adorned in chiffon and I find that fake. I used a lot of cottons. Another interesting aspect was the nose ring worn with the school uniform, which is a very small town thing,” Payal says.
Perhaps it is this same focus on realism that makes Vishal Bhardwaj one of the filmmakers Payal teams up with time and again. “I’ve worked with Vishal since Makdee,” she says. “For Matru, I kept the look of the supporting cast simple but Anushka Sharma’s was a little stylised. Imran Khan’s look had a lot of texture since it was a rustic setting. Even today, people keep requesting that I make them ghagras like the ones Anushka wore!”
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