HYDERABAD: Stylist, costume and fashion designer Neeraja Kona needs no introduction, her work does the talking for her. Her contribution to Tollywood makes reel turn real — be it a fresh, young and bubbly actress or a warrior princess or an intense hero — she brings life to the characters written. Her phone hasn’t stopped ringing since the film Shyam Singha Roy released. She made actors Nani and Sai Pallavi look every bit Shyam and Rosie in the film.
In a freewheeling chat with CE, the designer explains all about the outfits that she worked on for the film, her recently released book and more. She takes us through the process of ideating the looks of both the characters, who lived in West Bengal two decades ago.
“We started work on the look in October 2020. Around November, we started to zero in on all the references and details. We lost count on how many look tests we had. It wasn’t only for the lead actors, but the character artistes too. It was pretty hectic, every other day we had something or the other happening in the office. The film went on floors in January 2021 and the Bengali portion of it was shot towards the end of February 2021. It was a 25-day shoot, with 300-400 costumes for the crowd. A lot of research went into locking the looks; we were a team of 12 in the costume department who were working non-stop,” she says.
On how she landed the project, Neeraja says, “I had worked with Nani for five of his films and I think he was the one who suggested my name to Rahul (the director). Once Rahul gave me the initial narration, I was extremely excited about the script because I hadn’t done anything on these lines before. So, it was a new challenge. The story and the director’s vision drew me further into the project.”
For those curious to know the material used for the costumes, Neeraja explains the details. “We sort of stuck to cotton as it was our primary fabric. The earthy and rustic feel that comes from cotton and linen is what we were looking for. If you’ve noticed, a lot of handlooms were used. We did a lot of research and we got the borders and motifs that were predominant in the 60s and 70s. We got a few of them embroidered here. The Bengal saree that Pallavi was wearing — we wanted to keep it true to the era and so took motifs from that time frame. We did take a little cinematic liberty, but stuck through it as much as possible.”
Most of the characters in the film wore authentic fabrics which were bought from vintage stores. “We bought old silk sarees from vintage stores. A lot of hunting was done in the old markets,” she recalls.
About the places that she shopped at, to make the costumes look the way they were supposed to be, she reveals: “We had our local team shop in the markets of Charminar as well as Bengal. Kolkata has a similar area full of tiny stores. Some stores sell used costumes and fabrics and we had to go through that. For our extras, we bought a lot of old sarees and cut up the borders and attached them to other fabrics. Pallavi’s wedding saree was a very old one which we bought from a vintage store. We had to do damage control to it because it ripped a little. So, we cut out the pieces and attached them to another red fabric.”
Moving beyond the movie, she opens up about her book Waves, Sand and Magic. She says, “I have been into writing for quite sometime now and this book was just a culmination of about 101 poems that I had put together. It was just an idea that we were towing around and one thing lead to another. The book has been doing fabulously well. I love it when people send me images or notes about their experience while reading my poems. The book consists of pictures and poems taken during my travel. I usually write random things and have pictures that are associated with whatever I experience. For me, the book has been a walk down memory lane.”
The designer will soon be foraying into direction. About her upcoming projects, she shares, “I have been working on my script for a good while now. 2022 could be the year when I get to direct my first film. I am also working with Nagarjuna sir for his film Bangarraju, apart from Shruti Hassan, Balakrishna and Gopichand Malineni’s upcoming film. I also have a couple of other projects with Nithya Menen.”
Working with Nani has always been a good experience for the designer. “It was a beautiful experience, that guy is my best friend and I love it when our work speaks more. We have some memorable films together, right from Ninnu Kori, which turned to be a hit. Nani has been my mentor ever since I started writing and ideating my script. He is a pleasure to be around, he inspires not just me but a lot of people everywhere. It’s such an honour to call him my friend, whom I always look up to,” she says.
Most of the characters in the film wore authentic fabrics which were bought from vintage stores