There was a time when Indrakshi Pattanaik would people watch for hours in Florence, Italy, where she was pursuing a fashion programme. She also visited museums, textile galleries and was fascinated by textiles and garments of Renaissance era. At that time, she had no idea she would one day be styling for a Telugu film with a story that spanned from 1940s to early 1980s. On board as the stylist for director Nag Ashwin’s biopic on Savitri, Mahanati (Nadigayar Thilagam in Tamil), the film is an experience Indrakshi will cherish for a lifetime.
Born to an Oriya father, Bengali mother and spending her schooling years in Kolkata, she didn’t know enough about Savitri. Indrakshi had styled Chiranjeevi in Khaidi No 150 , working along with Chiranjeevi’s daughter Sushmita Konidela, but that was a different ball game.
Her hands-on training while working with fashion magazines as a design intern, soon after graduation, involved arranging beverages, sending emails, carrying clothes, props and last-minute troubleshooting. All this came in handy when she stepped into the film industry.
Where’s the documentation?
Work brought her to Hyderabad and she’s been styling A-list actors for public appearances and song sequences. The big break came with Mahanati . “I had a little more than a month for the prep work. Producer Swapna Dutt, Nag Ashwin and Dani (cinematographer) were a huge help,” she shares.
Archana Rao was roped in to design for Samantha and the pivotal male characters while Gaurang Shah was to do the honours for the women, especially Keerthy Suresh. The film traces Savitri’s journey from Palakollu in 1940s, from where she moves to erstwhile Madras for a film audition. “There is very less documentation on southern films and fashion, unlike in Bengal where there is resource material on film personalities like Satyajit Ray,” Indrakshi points out.
The film’s core team reached out to anyone who knew or had worked with Savitri. A massive research project was on. Veteran journalists shared old newspaper clippings (see box).
- * Indrakshi shares anecdotes of the film’s unit meeting photo journalists to pore into archives. “A former photojournalist with The Hindu had several clippings. In those, the film unit came across Lux print ads featuring Savitri and Gemini Ganesan. The ad has been recreated in the film,” she informs. The film also highlights Savithri’s interest in cars and recreates a race course scene.
- * The film’s colour palette varied according to the on-screen and off-screen rise and fall of Savitri. “For Savitri’s childhood years in Palakolu, we chose earthy tones in cotton and khadi. As we move to Savitri’s film journey, vibrant colours take over. Red was Gemini Ganesan’s favourite colour and it finds prominence as their romance blooms. Eventually, green, the colour of envy takes over to show the rift between two strong personalities. Blues, dark tones of maroon and moss green signify the later years of decline,” says Indrakshi.
On social media, Indrakshi requested people to share photographs and any information about people and lifestyles in different regions of south India in the 1940s, 50s, 60s and 70s. She wanted to understand what people from different sections of society wore in villages and urban centres at home, at work, on the streets, for weddings, polo matches... Information poured in. Some came forward to lend saris from their grandmother’s wardrobes. Indrakshi observed the difference in the cut of blouses, jewellery, bindi and accessories in each decade. Her team also sourced vintage saris from the Telugu states, Tamil Nadu and Bengal. “Some of them would tear after draping once or twice since the material had become so fragile. We had to be careful if the same sari was required for a continuity shot later,” she says.
Personal notes
Despite all the research, doubts lingered. Indrakshi wondered what Savitri wore when away from the public eye. Meeting Savithri’s daughter Vijaya Chamundeswari filled that gap. “She generously shared several images for me to understand Savitri better. Savitri wore her trademark long bindi only for public appearances and films, while she preferred round bindi while at home. Such finer details helped,” says Indrakshi. The film’s team reached out to those who knew Savitri. A massive research project was on.
The costume and production teams worked in tandem, collecting accessories and props that would be useful — vintage cameras, glasses and watches. “Everything from the thickness of belts to the shape and size of glasses changed each decade. Directors like KV Reddy were dressed immaculately during shoots. Stars of the time, like ANR, would attend audio launches dressed in tuxedos, flaunted bow ties...,” she points out.
The southern states, Indrakshi points out, were a little late to catch up with fashion trends, unlike Bollywood and a small section of society that had international exposure. So, what was considered fashion of the 50s continued to be prevalent in the 60s in the south. Bell bottomed trousers of the 70s lingered in the 80s. High-waisted pants and conical bras were specially ordered for the film.
Styling the non-cinematic characters — Samantha as a journalist of the 80s and Vijay Deverakonda as a photojournalist — required Indrakshi’s team to remove themselves from the filmi worlds they were recreating and keep it simple.
Gaurang Shah
HYDERABAD, 05/02/2014:Fashion designer Gaurang Shah Heritage summer collection -2014 at Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad on Wednesday. ---PHOTO: NAGARA GOPAL
Gaurang Shah had designed a few ensembles for Kirron Kher in Khoobsurat , but Mahanati is his first full-scale film project. “It took six months of research and over a year of work to not just match the director’s expectations, but also ensure authenticity,” says Gaurang.
His team sourced heavy silks from Kanchipuram and Benaras, fabrics from Kota and Mangalgiri and used block prints. More than 100 artisans were involved. To achieve the balance between opulence and simplicity, Mangalgiri and Kota with prints were used to portray Savitri’s rise to stardom, and heavy brocades, silks, organza, handwoven satin and chiffons for her golden era. Gaurang’s team visited museums to recreate textiles of that time.
For the Mayabazaar sequence, costumes had to match the original. “It was a heavy Kanjeevaram lehenga and blouse with an organza dupatta. We took us three months to get the right colour and design, and the fabric was woven. It was a challenge for me to coach a weaver to get Kanjeevaram as refined as in Savitri’s time,” explains Gaurang.
Archana Rao
Dulquer Salmaan (Gemini Ganesan), Rajendra Prasad (Savitri’s uncle), Naga Chaitanya (Akkineni Nageswara Rao), photo journalist Vijay Deverakonda, journalist Samantha are among the characters for whom Archana Rao designed for Mahanati . Working in coordination with the film’s team, Archana Rao studied old photographs.
For ANR, they re-imagined the colours from photographs and designed the clothes. Through Dulquer, Archana was eager to bring alive memories of the dapper Gemini Ganesan. “There were western influences in his clothes. Books helped us decode pattern making and garment structuring of that era,” she shares. She was cautious that Dulquer shouldn’t look like a caricature of Gemini Ganesan.
Archana says designing for Samantha’s character was a collaborative effort. As an 80s working woman who embraced fashion and yet stayed traditional, Samantha sports high-waist skirts and tops and her plaits and bindi were in place. Polyester blend saris were specially ordered. Personal photographs also came in handy. “I looked at my family photographs of the 80s. We needed Samantha and Vijay to look like Telugu women and men we knew,” says Archana. Corduroys and denims were in vogue and shades of mustard yellow and Vespa browns were predominant, she notes.
Designing for Rajendra Prasad meant keeping the clothes simple and even worn out while depicting his village origin and later, a glamorous turn as Savitri rose in filmdom.
