Challenges of going retro in Kannada cinema

Costumes for period and fantasy films call for serious research and sophisticated execution, designers tell Vivek M V

Pragathi Shetty had to recreate costumes and accessories from the 1980s for ‘Bell Bottom’. She stayed away from routine polka dots and scarves.

Arundhati Anjanappa did a lot of look tests to pick the tones for the Rakshit Shetty starrer ‘Avane Srimannarayana’.

So impressive were the suits worn by pan-Indian star Yash in the film ‘KGF: Chapter 2’ that people wanted to watch the film again just to see the actor in the classy set of clothes.

“They became a huge trend. You won’t believe the amount of people reaching out to us since the film’s release,” Saniya Sardhariya, the film’s costume designer, tells DHonSaturday. “From industrialists to common people, everybody wanted to wear what Rocky wore in the film. Bollywood professionals praised our work,” she adds.

Fashion in Kannada films has undergone a drastic change. The dressing style of characters in films has evolved thanks to ambitious films. Many gifted fashion designers are complimenting the vision of these filmmakers.

Saniya, a seasoned costume designer and Yash’s personal stylist, explains how they zeroed in on his appearance in the film. “The 70s and 80s were marked by loud fashion. Though it is a period film, when I learnt about the character, I realised there was a huge tonal difference in his style and personality and what was worn then,” she explains.

Apart from research, having a character map and understanding the film’s ideology helps, Saniya says. “For instance, I couldn’t design very loud, floral and colourful clothes for the hero as he isn’t a romantic guy,” she adds.

Saniya created several moodboards, followed with look tests, post which Yash’s looks were finalised. “We capitalised on the retro colour theme but took some creative liberties and decided to omit florals and body prints,” she says.

Keeping the looks simple worked. “We didn’t try too hard. We went for classic suits with amazing colour combinations. The suits had good cuts and fitted Yash well,” she says.

Saniya has always been a trendsetter of sorts — her first assignment was with actor Ganesh for the song ‘Stylo’ from ‘Hudugaata’. While people danced to the hit number at parties and college functions, the locket ‘G’ worn by Ganesh, conceptualised by Saniya, became a favourite among youngsters.

“I always thought fashion drives films but I realised it’s the other way round,” she says.

Just after ‘KGF: Chapter 1’, ‘Avane Srimannarayana’ (2020) starring Rakshit Shetty, brought visibility to Kannada cinema. Arundhati Anjanappa, who designed the film’s costumes, calls the film her “most creatively satisfying project”. “We did a lot of look tests to pick the colours and tone of costumes. Since the story was set in a fictional land, each one in the team had a different interpretation about the costumes,” she recollects.

After many sketches she sat with the storyboard artistes to produce the initial designs. “We got some costumes ready and after the look tests, we had to change the fabric a couple of times,” she says.

For the first time, she admits, designing for the hero was easy as Rakshit was in a cop avatar throughout the film. But there was an unexpected challenge. “He wears a sweater in the film. Somebody cut it during for a fight sequence and we weren’t able to get the same piece. We tried contacting our network in Delhi before we ended up sourcing it from as far as Ludhiana!” she says.

Adapting to varied situations isn’t difficult for Arundhati as she debuted with Pawan Kumar’s ‘Lucia’ (2013), a film that broke many conventions of filmmaking in Kannada. “We picked up clothes from the streets for Ninasam Sathish’s look as a torch bearer in a movie hall. Had we designed and then aged the clothes, it would have taken longer. It was a film in which we stayed away from traditional ideas and we excelled,” reasons Arundathi. Her recent noteable work was in 'Avatara Purusha', in which she excelled in designing the looks for characters playing black magicians.

The industry now acknowledges the importance of the department, Arundhati points out. "Filmmakers ensure they discuss the script with the designers and technicians from all departments are in sync while working," she says.

Costume designing appears to be an easy art from outside. However, it’s a job that throws many hurdles, points out Pragathi Shetty, who worked for ‘Hero’, starring husband and actor-director Rishab. It was a lockdown film and arranging costumes for it was a task.

“We needed at least three pairs of each costume. Stitching became tricky. Our vendors were from Mumbai and there was no supply of material due to the pandemic situation,” she tells the horror story.

Pragathi found a way out. “Pramod Shetty played a villain and we had planned a bathrobe for his look. I had decided on a red colour pattern with mustard yellow in satin silk material. Since we couldn’t get this done, we stitched it with window curtain material and it looked convincing, to our surprise,” she says.

Perhaps it also helped that she had worked on ‘Bell Bottom’, a film that gave her the chance to do “a lot of creative work”. “Since the film was set in the 1980s, all the designs, like belts, shoes and accessories had to be recreated. Since I was a 90s kid, my references were from newspapers and movies,” she says.

However, she stayed away from the routine polka dots and scarves. “I printed the retro motifs on chiffon material and got the saris ready,” says Pragathi, who has tips for newcomers in the industry. "We should develop a strong network to excel in the field. In order to deliver the products successfully, you need to know the best shoemakers, tailors and embroiders," she says.

Trends

The trend in Kannada cinema currently goes by the adage ‘old is gold’, says Pragathi.

“The puff sleeves and three-fourth arm sleeves are regular blouse patterns among heroines. In the next five years, bell bottoms will be common for heroes. Even the chequered and double pocket shirts seen in ‘777 Charlie’ were famous in the 70s and 80s,” she notes.

Future

Virtual reality will soon be used to assist costume designers, says Saniya.

“We already try it a lot to see how costumes look. Moodboards and look books will be replaced by virtual reality soon,” she says.