Megastar Chiranjeevi’s 151st film Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy is the talk of the town these days. The ambitious period drama tells the story of Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy, a prominent polygar in Kurnool region, who fought against the British East India Company in the first half of the 19th century.
Directed by Surender Reddy, the film has Chiranjeevi playing Narasima Reddy, whereas Amitabh Bachchan will be seen as his mentor and guru Gosayi Venkanna. Ever since the film’s posters and trailers were unveiled, the costumes in the film have garnered a lot of attention and quite rightfully so. Sushmita Konidela, elder daughter of Chiranjeevi, came onboard as the costume designer (Anju Modi, costume designer of Bajirao Mastani, was also part of the team in the initial stages of the film), whereas Uthara Menon was part of the project as a stylist.
“Ram Charan had seen me work with dad in Khaidi No. 150, but it was only after Rangasthalam that he got the confidence that I could also design costumes for other key characters in Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy. Once I put my head into something, I’m extremely committed to it,” Sushmita smiles while talking about how she came onboard this mammoth project.
Ahead of the film’s release, she sat down for an elaborate conversation about what went into designing the costumes for Chiranjeevi, Amitabh Bachchan, Nayanthara, and Tamannaah, and why the film was such a big challenge. Excerpts from an interview:
Sushmita, you’ve worked with your father Chiranjeevi in some of his earlier films like Jai Chiranjeeva, Khaidi No 150. When you came onboard Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy as a costume designer, what was your biggest challenge?
When Ram Charan and Surender Reddy told me that the timeline of the story is between 1800-1850, it was a thrilling proposition for me because while I was studying fashion design at NIFT, costume history was my favourite subject. I’ve even taught the subject for a term in college. It all came back to me in a very exciting way.
When it came to the character, Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy, although there were a few stories written about him and other notes in terms of folklore, there aren’t as many pictorial references. There’s quite a lot of documentation about north Indian kings and their lifestyles, but there isn’t really so much about the lives of the people in Rayalaseema region in this time period. Rajeevan, the production designer, and his team of concept artistes had been working on creating the look for all the lead characters for a while, and the designs they came up with were quite meticulous and extensive.
We felt that whatever we do for this film should serve as a future reference, both for Narasimha Reddy and the time he lived in. That was our main aim. But at the same time, we had to make it all seem as authentic as possible.
Given the lack of extensive pictorial information from the era, how did you design the costumes for Narasimha Reddy’s character?
To be honest, we took the general overview of the Indian textile history at that time to create the look of Narasimha Reddy, and then mixed it with our own cultural history, in terms of panchekattu, kanduva, turban, bottu, which is all very south-centric. We had to use our own imagination because we didn’t have specific documentation. If you see the original picture of Narasimha Reddy, you’ll see him wearing a long sherwani, panche (dhoti), along with a twirled moustache. But then, at the same time, I know that it might not look great on Chiranjeevi garu. I have worked with him long enough to know that he wouldn’t be comfortable wearing a stiff sherwani. And as actors, it’s hard to emote when they are put in such stiff costumes. I didn’t want to restrict his body language, which is an intrinsic part of his larger than life image.
After developing many versions of his look, we finally found a fluid version of kurta and panchekattu that he would be comfortable wearing. And then, we added a lot of elements to keep pan-India appeal to it. The kurta has a drape effect, which is a very Rajasthani thing to do. But at the same time, we also added a panche, turban, and a kanduva. When audiences from other parts of the country see this character on screen, they can still connect to it. It won’t be alien to them. It was a conscious attempt from our end to design the character in this manner.
You’ve also worked with Amitabh Bachchan, Nayanthara, and Tamannaah in this film. And all of them look so royal in their costumes, so to speak. What was your approach while working on their looks?
In the film, Amitabh Bachchan, who plays Gosayi Venkanna, needs to have a sage-like look; however, at the same time, we can’t make him look drab or deglamourised. Since he’s the mentor for a character like Narasimha Reddy, even he needs to have a grand and elegant look. The fabrics chosen for him had to elevate the pious look too, while keeping the character brief in mind.
Anju Modi was onboard as one of the designers in the beginning of the project. She has a great insight into Indian textiles and I learnt a lot while working with her about choosing the right fabric. For Amitabh Bachchan, we chose Bhagalpuri Khadi silk fabric for his character. Silk has a great flow and gives you grandeur, and at the same time, Khadi silk doesn’t have too much of shine and shimmer on the screen. You’ve to be careful about your fabrics because everything is blown up so much and every pore is visible to the naked eye.
Both Nayanthara and Tamannaah wore sarees which were about 12 metres long. We had a bunch of women who were experts at draping sarees to help the two actors. The draping was done on the sides, because we wanted to create something new and interesting to watch, but at the same time keep it relatable. Nayanthara wears sarees which have an extended pallu that she wraps around her hand. Since she’s a polygar’s wife, we could push the envelope to make her costumes look grand, apart from the jewellery she sports.
Tamannaah’s costumes were the hardest for me to crack at a design level. She plays a dancer who goes on to become a freedom fighter and supports Narasimha Reddy. Her character goes through a lot of transformation. It took us a lot of time to understand whether she’s a classical dancer or does she perform at a temple. Finally, we decided that she’s more like a theatre performer. She loved the designs that we came up with and absorbed the character really well. I would say that she made them work. Despite being down with fever, she never complained and continued to film her scenes and song sequences. It was amazing to work with her.
Were there any colours that you had to completely avoid while designing the costumes for all these characters?
We had a list of fabrics and colours that we didn’t want to use. Rajeevan and Rathnavelu had already set the colour palette which they were going to use throughout the film, and all three of us were in sync with what we wanted to create. We decided to keep the colours earthy and muted. We didn’t use any synthetic colours like turquoise blue, parrot green, and we didn’t use any strong colours like bright red, bright green, bright yellow. And there’s no black either. Everything has an old feel to it.
The costumes in the film look so rich despite using earthy colours. What’s the trick behind that?
We achieved that look with the designs and embroidery that we used on the costumes. If you take the war costume which Narasimha Reddy wears, it has a lot of embroidery. This is something that I learnt from Anju Modi. She used to say, “Don’t make the costume look flat. Include different elements and layers which will make it interesting on screen.”
There’s so much story going on in every costume. The war costume that Narasimha Reddy wears in the latter portions of the story talks a lot about the character’s transformation from a polygar to a rebel. Subconsciously, it also hints at the layers in his mind. The story dictates the grandness of the costumes. We were very careful to not make anything look gaudy or striking which will distract you from the story.
The entire film must have been quite an overwhelming experience for you. Isn’t it?
It was overwhelming in the beginning. We did a lot of research and came up with multiple references for each look and fabric that we wanted to use in the film, and once Chiranjeevi garu saw how much work went into it, that’s when he got confidence that we have been working relentlessly. Time is a crucial factor him, and we have to uphold ourselves to the expectations that he had from all of us.
You’ve worked with him long enough to understand what his preferences are. So, what is it that he absolutely hates when it comes to costumes?
He doesn’t like anything that’s stiff or difficult to move in. It’s also quite important for him that the fabric flows on his body. He can’t do thick fabric and high neck, which constrict his movement - I don’t want to be put in a uniform. I learnt all this the hard way. Every costume has a lot of space at his neck, he loves things which flow on him when he moves or fights. There were times that we were all very confident about a costume, but he would have a different take on a scene and what’s an appropriate costume for it. We learnt to have a backup for a backup for a backup! There are so many things that control a scene and I don’t want to hamper the flow because of some delay from the costume department.
Was there ever an instance where you ended up convincing him to wear a costume even though he was reluctant in the beginning?
Yes. It was the costume which made it to the first poster that we unveiled in Mumbai. He didn’t like it at all initially because he felt that the fabric was too thick, whereas I was convinced that it will work on him. It shows his transition from polygar to being a rebel, and slowly the same feeling comes into his head too. The costume also reflected how he’s uniting the people to fight against the British.
Finally, he relented and wore it. When he walked into the set and stood in front of the camera, Surender Reddy was absolutely convinced that it’s the poster look. Everyone loved it and told me that Chiranjeevi garu is looking amazing today. I had some 50 people backing my judgement (laughs). That’s the story behind the poster.
When it comes to a period drama like Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, how much of an actor’s personality influences the costumes you design? Or is it the other way around where you design the costumes for the character rather than the actor?
When it came to films like Rangasthalam or Khaidi No 150, I give more priority to the actor’s personality, because casting for a character happens because of the actor’s personality. A director writes a character keeping an actor in mind. There are exceptions like Kamal Haasan and Vikram, but not everyone is like them. Chiranjeevi garu's personality is so strong that I believe that writers and directors write characters close to his person.
As a designer, I need to know what is the quintessential Chiru’s style and I don’t want to change it because the audience have grown up watching him in a certain way. But in a film like Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, he can’t be Chiranjeevi. He has to be Narasimha Reddy. So, the costumes are designed accordingly. Personally, he uses his left hand a lot, and so, he wears the shawl in a certain way. It was the same with other actors too where the costumes were designed for the characters they were playing.
The quantum of work that you have done for a film like Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy must have been huge. What was your biggest learning experience?
I think with this film I’ve learnt more or as much as I learnt in college. One of my biggest learning experience was understanding how each fabric, colour behaves. Also, there were scenes where the actors, including Chiranjeevi garu and Tamannaah, go underwater. The challenging part was choosing the right fabric which flows well and at the same time, it shouldn’t get damaged under water. You wouldn’t know the result until you try it out first.
Another significant challenge for me in the film was working with four actors and how to balance each actor in each frame. Sometimes there are three of them in a frame, but still, I’ve to balance each of them and give them their individual presence in each scene. The film also gave me a change to learn more about Indian textiles and how to dye them (apart from understanding how each dye behaves).
There were so many moments during the making where I was bowled over by the process of filmmaking. The war sequence that was filmed in Georgia was jaw-dropping and it was fascinating to watch the kind of equipment that Rathnavelu, the cinematographer, was using. It felt like I was a spectator who went to a magic show. I’m a big fan of cinema, and to see all that happening right in front of eyes was a magical experience.