I think I have become sort of a history expert, but I am enjoying it as long as it sort of challenges me. In Raabta, Jilaan and Saiba are from an uncertain past…
The story revolves around two lives… reincarnation and connected through time and a long past… it’s about dreaming... it’s from a very uncertain past or image… an image in your head of the past….
I had to create the space and time in my head… somewhere in the hills of India where there are Mongols… someone who is travelling up in the north… Jilaan is a conqueror. There is a sense of foreignness... yet he is a prince in his own right. He leads.
Kriti is of a slightly civilised space, probably closer to India. She lives in a much more pleasant space where there is colour and beauty. Some sense of metal. Some sense of civilisation... sort of an Indian silhouette…. She is supposed to be a warrior princess, a wildcat.
I used a lot of leather strands in Sushant’s hairstyle. We had to really make him look evil and wanted it really texturised. Someone living in the forest would not probably have a dapper style. It was painful for Sushant… he used to spend almost two hours just on his hair!
My real raabta…
The organic life from the past… when we were doing those portions from the film… bare, basic, animalistic.... ‘I have this leather patch and I have to wear it... what does my mind say? Will I put it on my thigh or will I put it on my head?’ I went back to the basics of our living as human beings, the idea of clothing.
Dangal, Dangal…
I worked very hard on the film, but the idea was to not get noticed. I was hoping that the work is so good that nobody notices my work because it is meant to blend in… you shouldn’t see the costumes, they should be so part of the environment. I am surprised that people have noticed it and are complimenting me. It’s a sensitive approach and also being realistic about it… you just cannot give the girls shirts-pants. In the film, they feel like girls but they had to wear boys’ clothes. To live their emotions and to be able to costume them accordingly, I did put a lot of thought into it.
Post-Dangal, life has not changed other than the fact that it just makes me feel so good that such good films, which are very simple films, do so well and people remember them. It inspires kids, ya. My nieces have started waking up in the morning and started going for a jog!
‘Tell me if I am wearing 1C or 2A!’
Aamir Khan was in white kurtas for the entire film, but we had grades of white kurtas… ‘white A to white D’! It was only something that my team would know. Nitesh sir (Tiwari, director), was clear that he wanted to see him in a certain tone throughout. But we being costume people, we wouldn’t leave things the way they are. We would put our little detailing… kuch toh hona chahiye aisa… his emotional graph is changing… so whether he will wear a fresh white or a dull white (laughs).... I remember Aamir used to get really irritated. He would call us suddenly and say, ‘So, tell me if I am wearing 1C or 2A!’ (Laughs) My assistants were always very nervous. That was the biggest joke. We thought we were doing such a detailed job but he just didn’t get the point of it!
From one A to another. From an Assistant director (AD) to an Accidental costume designer. That’s Maxima Basu for you. Born to Bengali parents and brought up in Delhi, the Raabta stylist shifted to Mumbai in end-2007. With a CV starring Ram-Leela, Bajirao Mastani and Dangal, Maxima feels it’s been a “wonderful” journey. The way she looks at costumes now goes back to her days as an AD. “What I remember the most about these seven-eight years are my real, real love… young days at college… those days when I wasn’t making any money or I was doing casting… the people I observed and the time I spent in just looking around the world… those innocent days… are what you live for the longest. When you are an AD and are running on the sets and you understand what the whole filmmaking business is about or what characters you are going to film in future…. I never looked at it like a costumer then, I looked at them as people. I think I really have to give that to the first few years of my career, where I had nothing to do with costumes!” Maxima told t2onSunday. And, the Raabta talk led to some revelations.
STAR IMPRESSIONS
Ranveer Singh: Energy ball
Kriti Sanon: Skilled
Sushant Singh Rajput: Intense
I don’t understand fashion…
My fashion quotient is not really great! I don’t understand fashion. For me, costume designing is a timeless act. I can’t be thinking what is in and out these days. If I have to think what is in fashion, then there is that two per cent range that my mind will work in. I have totally freed my mind of fashion a long time back. I really don’t care for fashion at all. That completely frees me as a designer. I don’t care for fashion. I don’t have to sell my clothes. My costumes are for the film, for the character.
My raabta with Calcutta…
Mishti, man! Sandesh, rosogolla… you name it… I haven’t grown up in Calcutta, I have grown up on Delhi ki mithai… I can’t end my day without a sweet dish. No matter what glamorous industry I live in, I cannot lead a sugar-free life… not for me! Also, the other Bengali connections of eating and travelling....
Lyangra or Himsagar?
Himsagar.
One Bengali trait I love…
I love the sense of equality of men and women. They are far more liberal. There is an overall growth of personality in a Bengali kid.
One Bengali trait I hate…
There is a lot to be proud about, but there is also a lot of false pride. I mean it’s great to be proud of being a Bengali, but a general sense of acknowledging other cultures… that humility is not there. We are proud to an extent that we ignore qualities of other cultures. As a culture you stop growing if you don’t learn from others.
A favourite era from history I would love to bring alive through my designs..
England from 15th-17th century… Britain from the Dark to the Middle Ages.
The wonder woman of Indian cinema is…
Priyanka Chopra. We have had some phenomenal actors and actresses, but as an independent brand like Priyanka, it takes a lot of studied effort to be where she is.
I love scuba diving and an underwater creature I identify with is…
Dory, from Finding Nemo. I am like Dory.... I think it is a ridiculous way of projecting myself but she is the only character I relate to… it’s an inside joke that only friends will get!
Maxima means…
A miracle worker actually. My father wanted to have a son and name him after Maxim Gorky… he named me Maxima. Maxima also means ‘greater, more’.
— Saionee Chakraborty
