Jayakumar aka Indrans Jayan is on cloud nine. And why not? The costumes he designed for ‘Kuttysrank’ have brought him laurels on a national level. “I expected a state award for ‘Kuttysrank’ but the jury members ignored the film.
The national award has made up for the loss in a big way.” The preparations for the film started three months before the shoot, he says.
“Set in the 1950s, the film unfolds through the eyes of t h r e e wome n wh o s e memories resurrect the life and time of the character enacted by Mammootty. The actor comes in three time frames, three seasons and in three different places. The costumes had to be designed in tune with these.” Art films demand more attention, he says. “We should be all the more careful even when deciding on minute things. The crew worked hard for the chavittunadakam scenes in ‘Kuttysrank’. It is the most crucial part of the film,” says Jayan, who has designed the costumes of over 300 films including ‘Arayannangalude Veedu’, ‘Aniyan Bava Chettan Bava’, ‘AKG’, ‘Bhoothakannadi’, and ‘Aadyathe Kanmani.’ It was actor Indrans who invited him to the world of cinema 25 years ago.
“Indrans is my cousin and he had a costume designing centre. I walked in to the industry with the dream of being an art director. But it was a highly competitive field and I lost the battle. But Indrans stood by me. I am now happy as a costume designer. Over the years, I have learned a lot. I assisted Indrans in designing the costumes of over 60 films but when he got busy with acting assignments, I took over his costume designing centre.
Soon I started gaining popularity as Indrans Jayan.” He recounts that when he was working for director Padmarajan’s films, the costumes were a combination of the director’s vision and the perspectives of the cameraman and the art director.
“Padmarajan knew the importance of costume designing in Malayalam films. He used to come with me to buy the costumes in his films.
There is a certain logic in deciding each costume as it plays a major role in creating the mood o f a character.
But these days, not many are bothered about it. All they want is that the dresses in the film should be colourful. These days, light and background are vital factors that influence the costumes in a film,” he says.
Jayan i s g rat e ful t o ‘Ku t t y s r a n k ’ d i r e c t o r Shaji N Karun, make-up artist Pattanam Rasheed, associate director Saheer Ali and the entire crew of the film that fetched him the laurel. He is now working on the costumes of Rajasenan’s ‘Oru Small Family’, Mohan Sharma’s ‘Gramam’ and ‘College Days’.
P T Kunjumuhammed’s ‘Veeraputhran’ starring Prithviraj is another major project he will be associated with.
“The film is about freedom fighter Muhammad Abdul Rahman. My costumes will have to reflect the culture and lifestyle of the people of the 1930s,” says Jayan, who resides at Kumarapuram in Thiruvananthapuram.
Jayan is married to Sathi Kumari and the couple have two daughters, Vishnu Priya and Vishnu Maya.