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| Shahana in a Sayon Mitra outfit. Picture by Rashbehari Das |
Long shirt and palazzo pants for Jaya Bachchan, Sharara with zardosi work for Mallika Sarabhai, formal gowns for newcomer Shahana Chatterjee.... Sayon Mitra dresses up the ladies of Lovesongs — Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. t2 gets the style story from the fashion designer...
Film debut
Lovesongs director Jayabrato Chatterjee called me up in end-2006 and asked me to meet him. He wanted me to design for Lovesongs…, both the wardrobe and styling! A first film assignment with an ensemble cast led by Jaya Bachchan and Mallika Sarabhai! We began shooting in January 2007. Joyda had a very specific brief for me. He had already started shopping for Jayaji’s saris. I was happy that my first film was so real-looking with lifelike characters.
Being with a Bachchan
Jayaji plays Mridula, a widow who has been through hell in life, yet she is very calm and composed. She works in an NGO and her wardrobe had to reflect her quintessential Bengali persona. She is wearing simple taant saris with blouses and traditional dokra jewellery. She also has a gardenia flower on the side of her bun. Her colour palette is very earthy — lots of brick reds, off-whites and mustards. I have made her a black georgette outfit with a long shirt and palazzo pants and a black-and-white floral sequinned stole. Jayaji knows exactly what she wants. She was the senior-most in the crew and used to help us to help her! For the first few days, I was very scared and nervous but two days into the Mumbai schedule and I was okay. I also made her three other simple churidar kurtas.
Style story
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I made a couple of outfits for Mallika Sarabhai, who plays a traditional Muslim housewife. I designed a parrot green Sharara with zardosi work and an off-white chikan churidar kurta. Shahana Chatterjee, who plays Jayaji’s daughter and is a nightclub singer, has two looks — for the clubs there are formal gowns embellished with diamantes and crystals, and at home she has a contrasting appeal, very boho-chic. For Doel Basu, I have designed dresses, shirts, trousers and also a lehnga.
Lesson learnt
It was the second-last day of the schedule in Mumbai and I lost track of a particular bangle Jayaji was wearing. Joyda asked her about it and she said that no one gave it to her! While leaving she told me that she was very disappointed with me. I don’t think I will ever mess continuity again! Though there are tight deadlines and also some overnight production needs, I liked my film stint and I am ready for more.
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Lovesongs — Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow is close to kantha exponent Shamlu Dudeja’s heart for more reasons than one. First, director Jayabrato Chatterjee is an old friend. And second, Shamlu’s kantha creations have been worn by Jaya Bachchan, with whom she even has a cameo in the film.
As a feisty widow running an NGO, Jaya drapes a black crepe sari from Shamlu’s Mallika’s Kantha Collection. “I had to keep in mind the role she (Jaya) was playing, her petite frame, her personality. For a grandmother who is socially-conscious, the colour could be anything but loud, the motifs not too large and the designs soft.... The sari was in the making. Once I showed it to Jayabrato, he liked it,” says Shamlu, who has also designed a “jhola-like bag” for Jaya, who “looks gorgeous in the soft black sari with light beige embroidery of swirling floral creepers and an intricate pallu.” Jaya sports the sari during a scene shot in Shamlu’s drawing room. The designer features in the scene, asking Mridula (Jaya) to visit her kantha unit.
Shamlu’s other creations for Lovesongs include a variety of dupattas worn by Jaya, Shahana Chatterjee and Doel Basu. Woven around crepe and tussar, the dupattas come in burnt rust, steel greys and beige with patterns highlighted in gold, rust, cream and green. There are a couple in red as well. Hand paint and tie--dye have been combined with kantha.
