Once upon a time there were two Delhi girls Manoshi Nath and Rushi Sharma who did the costumes for Khosla Ka Ghosla! and Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! Cut to today and they are in Mumbai making clothes for films about Mumbai. As we go gung-ho about the retro look in Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, the girls tell t2 how it all happened.

Trends that could travel from reel to real

(FROM TOP)Polkas,Jumpsuits,Printed dresses,High-waist bell-bottoms ,Rose-tinted sunglasses,The denim-on-denim look,Printed shirts.

The brief

The brief from director Milan Luthria was to show the grit and glamour of the Mumbai underworld. He wanted us to create looks that clearly spelt 1960s and 1970s. He said it needn’t necessarily look like India of the 70s. The international fashion trends as well as the flamboyance of the ghettos and the roadside people had to come through. He told us to be real. So we went through albums of our parents and relatives, taking in the details.

The characters

Ajay Devgn as Sultan Mirza: For Ajay, we had got tailored 35-40 suits with beautiful lapels, bell-bottoms, printed shirts and vintage buttons. But they were all scrapped in the end and Milan wanted to go with the white-on-white Haji Mastan look. Most of the other characters in the film are so flashy and out there that Ajay actually stands out.

Emraan Hashmi as Shoaib Khan: This is one of our favourite characters and his look progresses with the film. He is straight out of West Side Story with denim bell-bottoms, wife-beater vests, mul shirts and chappals. When the character progresses he becomes this Mumbai don with loud printed satin or linen blend shirts with big collars, lapels, the Prince of Wales checked suits and sometimes windowpane checks.
He is almost as flamboyant as the South American gangster Nicky Barnes.

Kangana Ranaut as Rehana: She is an actress in the film. So we had the whole stylish flower power thing going with lots of dresses, flowing evening gowns in prints and polkas. You could associate her with the French actress Tina Aumont as well as Bolly divas like Zeenat Aman and Parveen Babi. For her, we went all out with lots of halter necks, satin jumpsuits with rosettes, can-can dresses and simple boatneck Audrey Hepburn and Chanel-type dresses.

Prachi Desai as Mumtaz: She is a simple and conservative Muslim girl, so she is wearing Mumtaz-inspired (the actress) cotton salwar kameezes, tight churidars and tie-dyed short kurtis with dupattas.

As Emraan, her boyfriend, becomes affluent, her wardrobe also changes, shifting to silk, embroidery and sequins with cute little crochet waistcoats. The audiences took her Bobby look very well but that is only in one scene where she dressed for her boyfriend.

Star appeal

We were blessed working with actors with great attitude. Ajay Devgn is very easy-going and he was gung-ho about the 40 suits but he was on board about the change as well. He would simply put an arm inside a sleeve and say “I am sure this will fit me”! In fact, Kangana even came at 3am for fittings and we needed her for trials right till the end. Emraan also carried off the clothes with great confidence.

Favourite pieces

Ajay’s watch that we got assembled from an old watchmaker. Also, vintage ivory buttons in a safari suit that we got from an antique shop in Delhi.

Emraan’s windowpane checked suit in green and navy that he wears with a flashy brown, green and white satin shirt.

Prachi’s pink silk salwar kameez with a waistcoat and gold meena buttons from Chandni Chowk.

Kangana’s yellow tight Twiggy dress with gloves, stockings and bouffant.

Shoes maketh a man

Like in the 1970s films, there are a lot of close-ups of shoes and people walking. Emraan wears a lot of these leopard print-meets-crocodile leather shoes. There are two-toned patent leather shoes as well. Ajay’s sober shoes were without laces, just buckles and sheen leather. We also added finishing touches like the wooden heels for that weighed down, tick-tock sound! We got them custom-made from Chinese shoemakers who work out of their own little places in Mumbai.

Stylish Seventies!

You always go back to the 1970s fashion era for reference. It’s a time when men and women made an effort to dress up to the point of being OTT. They had the freedom to wear what they wanted and the whole flower power thing was so exciting and challenging.