If you are familiar with the work of director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, you can already assume the scale and grandeur of his upcoming film Bajirao Mastani starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra. After watching the trailer, it is possible that one goes from simple fawning to scrutinizing tiny details.
Vogue got in conversation with designer Anju Modi—the woman behind the costumes.
What were your reference points when creating the costumes?
Bajirao Mastani is largely a period film—and the reference for me was the context of that time in history when Bajirao emerged as a noted Peshwa; every aspect of that era played a key role in the design process for this movie, for me. Not only did the costumes have to reflect the nuances of the characters being portrayed, but also represent the grandiose of that period in our history.
For the research behind the collection, we had our work cut out quite clearly for us. Mr Bhansali is a very detail-oriented person; he is methodical and has clarity on the way he wants the characters to be developed and portrayed. He and I travelled to various parts of Maharashtra to research the costumes and how we could best highlight and detail out the nuances of each of the three protagonists' characters and personalities.
Mastani is the second wife—have you made conscious effort to differentiate Kashibai and Mastani’s personalities other than the obvious difference in the outfits?
When both the female characters were described to me, there were many obvious and apparent differences between the two. Besides the peripheral differences (their appearance, religious influences and contrasting lifestyles), the uniqueness of both their personalities transcended to more elemental details like their demeanor, their perception of what was happening around them, their reactions and more behavioral aspects.
While designing costumes, it is a precarious situation to capture some of the more subtle personality traits that we would like to highlight while retaining the complexity and holistic view of the character.
Of the three main characters, Bajirao, Kashibai and Mastani—who was the most difficult to design for?
It’s difficult to single out any one of them because all three of them posed their own set of unique challenges. I would say that balancing the core personalities with their progression through the movie to reflect their states of mind during pivotal moments with the right garments, colors, accessories was the most challenging task.
What were some of the challenging aspects while creating the look?
I think the most challenging aspect of designing and styling the characters for a period movie is to ensure that the garments capture the essence, but at the same time do not go overboard to make it look costume-y and unnatural. The objective is to seamlessly communicate the time and era, lifestyle, opulence (or lack of it), and the character’s personality through some obvious elements and some conspicuous details. Balancing these two ends of the spectrum is where the challenge lies.
Can you describe the jewellery used in the movie?
We have tried to maintain the authenticity of the characters and the movie through the jewellery and the accessories; they have been used to augment and enhance the ensembles, the characters and the events of the movie.
Jewellery pieces were sourced and designed to help recreate the Hyderabadi Nizaam look for Mastani to highlight her part-Muslim heritage; to present the appropriate look for the battle scenes, we introduced heavy chainmail armours and leather footwear. To reflect the demure characteristics of Kashibai, a simple Maharashtrian woman and first wife of Bajirao we used a lot of traditional Marathi jewellery - the nathni and archetypal ornaments.
The production scale of the film is immense, was there a point when you were awed by it?
At every point! Mr Bhansali has upped his own game with Bajirao Mastani. I would not like to reveal much but we can see the grandiose even in the trailer clip released. I would like to however add that all pre-existing benchmarks of opulence and grandeur with sets, cinematography and overall production have been challenged and changed by Mr Bhansali.
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