(From top) Model Tanusree shows off jewellery inspired by Parineeta. Picture by Pabitra Das; make-up by Aniruddha Chakladhar. Raima Sen and Vidya Balan on the sets of the same film

There is more that one common thread running through Rituparno Ghosh’s Chokher Bali, Sahara Manoranjan’s Saheb Bibi Gulam and the soon-to-be-released Parineeta by Vidhu Vinod Chopra.

l three are, of course, screen adaptations of Bengali classics. They also have in common revivalist, period jewellery created by city-based jewellery house Anjali Jewellers.

If it was elaborate traditional designs in pure gold adorning Aishwarya Rai in Chokher Bali, Raveena Tandon was bedecked in antique-look jadoa pieces in the small screen version of Saheb Bibi Gulam.

It’s period jewellery once again, in keeping with the era captured, which has been created for actress Vidya Balan, who plays Lolita in Parineeta. Not only will she be seen flaunting the pieces in the film releasing this Friday, she is scheduled to sport the same designs at the ongoing IIFA awards in Amsterdam.

“We have created an exclusive look for Parineeta, which draws a lot on traditional Bengali as well as Rajasthani designs,” said Anargha Chowdhury, one of the proprietors of Anjali Jewellers.

The team also created accessories for other characters in the film, including cufflinks for male lead Saif Ali Khan.

The jewellery, unveiled at the store on Wednesday, features gold ornaments studded with precious stones like rubies, emeralds, diamonds and pearls, in traditional jadoa. It also includes Rajasthani thewa work on gold blocks strung with black beads.

“Jadoa is a very traditional Bengali jewellery form, but it was losing out in popularity to pure gold. We are trying to revive interest in jadoa jewellery. Thewa too, is an ancient Rajasthani art form that is slowly dying. We have used it profusely in this range,” added Chowdhury.

The pieces include elaborate necklaces, mop chains, chokers and old Bengali designs like patihaar, sitahaar, kaan pasha, jhumko, bangles, studded wristbands and ornate hairpins.

Another forthcoming film that features period jewellery by Anjali Jewellers is Rituparno Ghosh’s Antarmahal, starring Soha Ali Khan, Abhishek Bachchan and Jackie Shroff.

“The look in Antarmahal is more royal Indian. Apart from the ornaments, the film uses lots of silver plates and other accessories designed by us,” he revealed.

While more and more films are getting designer touches when it comes to jewellery, the look need not be restricted to the antique. “We are open to doing all kinds of jewellery, depending on the requirement and the time in which the film is set. For instance, we are doing the jewellery for a Bengali film by Haranath Chakraborty where the look is very modern,” said Chowdhury.

The only criteria is the jewellery must get enough screen time.

If the designer touch is lending authenticity and enhancing aesthetic appeal to the movies, the arrangement benefits the jewellery house too.

“Showcasing our jewellery in films affects sales directly. The demand for traditional designs has picked up recently, thanks to films like Devdas and Chokher Bali,” explained the jeweller.

Post Chokher Bali, the store recorded a rise in demand for elaborate anklets and headgear like tikli, mathar bagan and gold hairpins.

“Every woman getting married wanted to wear the kind of head accessories shown in Chokher Bali. And after Devdas there was a sudden craze for the kind of earrings featured in the film. We expect sale of jadoa jewellery to go up following Parineeta,” he observed.

And it’s not just brides-to-be who make a beeline for filmi designs. An impressed Saif apparently came by with his girlfriend Rosa to pick up some sets for her.