Dressing up Jodha and Akbar

Dressing up the stars is a piece of cake for fashion designer Neeta Lulla (right).

She has been in the film industry for two decades and won a National Award for her designs in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas.

Her latest assignment is designing for the Ashutosh Gowarikar's epic love story, Jodhaa Akbar. What makes the fashion designer's job easier is that she is no stranger to one of the stars, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, whom Neeta has been designing for, in the last decade.

Neeta Lulla talks to Patcy N about Jodhaa-Akbar's elaborate outfits:

Though I have worked on period films like Devdas, Kisna and even a Hollywood film, One Night with the King, Jodhaa Akbar is one of the most challenging films I have ever done in the last 20 years.

One of the main reasons is because this is the first time I have designed for an entire cast -- from Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya, to a commoner walking on the road.

What made it easier was that everything was well researched. Even then, I worked on this project for a year and half because there was very little information available about the costumes and jewellery worn during that period.

Gowarikar made things smooth. I am yet to come across a director like him who is so organised, calm and in sync with what the technicians are looking for.

I wasn't nervous while doing the film. I thrive on challenges and Jodhaa Akbar was one project that really excited me.

I designed the clothes myself. The accessories, however, were tricky so Tanishq (a leading jewellery brand) stepped in and gave me inputs. Gowarikar also gave me inputs. The accessories were made of gold, cut diamond, ruby, kundan and jade.

As the Mughal era was known for its grandiosity, we used a lot of warm tones though we were careful not to go overboard.

The costumes and accessories were quite heavy but the actors took it in their stride.

I share a great bond with Aishwarya. I have been designing for her for the last decade so I knew her likes and dislikes.

The most ornate costume I designed for Aishwarya in the film is her bridal dress as well as the one she wore for a celebration song. We chose the colour red for the bridal dress, which had a lot of embroidery. In fact, the grandness of the bridal dress was the ornate embroidery which I designed in detail and was brought to life by my artisans.

We got the fabrics from Delhi, Jaipur, Mumbai and Rajasthan.

We used a lot woven fabrics and different textures like brocades, silks and cotton. We used a lot of zardozi, kundan and stones embedded in the embroidery. We also had gotta work done on some of the costumes.

For shoes, we got authentic embroidered mojris from Rajasthan.

Hrithik found it difficult to handle so much ornate work. I don't think anyone would like to wear so much ornate stuff.

I also kept in mind the character while designing the clothes. For example, I used a lot of dark tones of brown, black and green while designing for Nikitin Dheer's negative character.

The jewellery used in Jodhaa Akbar go back to the days of age-old traditions, but with a few modifications.

People may love the accessories of those grand days when they see them in the film but at the same time wearing them in real life is not feasible. People may not be able to afford them.

Plus, more and more people are looking for comfort as well as fashion. So, what I was aiming at is a blend of both -- bringing back the grandness of those days in today's time zone.

Courtesy: Rediff.com

'Jodha Akbar': What is in name?

Several controversies have surrounded the forthcoming film of Aishwarya Rai and Hirtik Roshan 'Jodha Akbar'. Rajputs in Rajasthan have staged demonstrations against the historical films. Even historians have questioned the very existence of Jodha Bai. Many have questioned the name Jodha bai but others say that name outside the Mughal Palace and inside the harem differed.

More than four decades ago, K. Asif picked up Akbar's son Salim from the pages of history and cast his love story in celluloid.

The magnum opus, "Mughal-e-Azam", based on the tragic romance between Salim and Anarkali, was a sheer spectacle in terms of grandeur, colour, drama and music. It remains a hit till date.

So now the question is: will Ashutosh Gowariker's "Jodhaa-Akbar" - starring Indian superhero Hrithik Roshan and beauty queen Aishwarya Rai - weave the same magic?

"People will come to the theatres out of curiosity but the magic of 'Mughal-e-Azam' will always linger. 'Jodhaa-Akbar' is not a love story in the true sense, it was more of a marriage of convenience; hence a bigger challenge for Gowariker to make it in to a convincing love story," Debdatta Mukherjee, a leading model, told IANS.

"Mughal-e-Azam", say old-timers in Bollywood, was based on a "documented" love story, whereas there "are very few details available about Jodhabai and Akbar. Jodha still remains a mystery. Many historians believe that she was a Rajput princess from Rajasthan and according to some, Raja Mansingh's sister.

"There is no drama associated with their courtship," said an industry veteran.

Gowariker risked making "Lagaan" in 2001, a period film set in colonial India, and hit the jackpot. And now he is gambling once again by daring to narrate the not-so-familiar love story of Mughal emperor Jalaluddin Akbar and Rajput princess Jodhabai in "Jodhaa-Akbar" releasing Valentine's Day week.

Releasing Feb 15, it's a rather unusual Valentine romance - between a Mughal emperor and a Hindu woman who was the emperor's arranged match. Love grew after marriage and also saw the birth of the heir to the Mughal throne, Jahangir.

While Asif's "Mughal-e-Azam" was a doomed love story starring Dilip Kumar and "beauty queen of the era" Madhubala, Gowariker's 16th century tale is about prince Salims's parents who were brought together by a marriage of alliance.

"Jodha and Akbar shared a perfect arranged marriage. I was fascinated by how their relationship must have grown after marriage," Gowariker was quoted as saying.

Earlier, Hrithik and Aishwarya had scorched the screen in the slick flick "Dhoom 2", but the director says that their previous image is not going to harm his film.

He said: "Their contemporary image won't be a problem. They were a huge success in 'Dhoom 2'. That can only help my film, not harm it. The audience will come in and forget everything about Hrithik and Aishwarya.

"What audiences will see in my film are Jodha and Akbar. At least, that's what I've tried to ensure through their looks, body language and behaviour."

Produced at a cost of Rs.15 million, "Mughal-e-Azam" was the costliest film of the era. It took Asif 14 years to realise his dream because of casting, financial and technical obstacles. Once completed, the epic love story was premiered simultaneously in 1960 in 150 theatres across the country and turned out to be a gold spinner.

Gowariker also faced difficulty in finding a producer. However, once the deal was signed with UTV, he had a smooth ride.

Gowariker finished the film in a year's time. He used over 80 elephants, 100 horses and 55 camels in the movie. Initially, the film's budget was of Rs.400 million, apparently it overshot the whip.

While Nitin Desai worked on the details of the magnanimous sets, Tanishq has designed the jewellery and Neeta Lulla has done the costume and looks of the film. It goes without saying that they all worked under the guidance of Gowariker.

Asif also worked with the best of talents. He hired tailors from Delhi to design the costumes, roped in goldsmiths from Hyderabad for the jewellery, Kolhapur craftsmen made the crowns, Rajasthani ironsmiths fabricated the shields, swords, spears, dagger and armour, specialists from Surat-Khambayat were employed for the exquisite zardosi work on the costumes, while the elaborate footwear was ordered from Agra!

Dilip Kumar who played Salim was sent to London to get a special wig to give him a princely look.

In a song titled "Ae mohabbat zindabad", a chorus of 100 singers were used and in a song titled "Azeem O Shan, Shahenshah" in "Jodhaa-Akbar", the director roped in 1,000 dancers in traditional costumes, wielding swords and shields.

While Asif's legendary masterpiece didn't have any historical evidence, Gowariker hired a research team of historians and scholars to guide him and help him keep things historically accurate.

After two years of pre-production work, Gowariker canned the first shot. "There was no reference in any books about what happened between Jodha and Akbar. I've taken extreme care to make sure viewers believe in the relationship," said Gowariker.

Another high point of "Mughal-e-Azam" was Naushad's superb musical score, especially the song "Jab pyar kiya to darna kya", which has a timeless appeal.

A.R. Rahman's music for "Jodhaa-Akbar" too has been appreciated. The songs have an epic feel to it.

"I wanted to make my historical movie as believable as I'd liked to see it. Every element big or small, from the texture of the clothes to the sets, décor, dialogues and the protocol, even the incidental sounds of birds and animals, they all had to be just right for me," said Gowariker.

Although it has not been decided yet with how many prints "Jodhaa-Akbar" will be released when it opens, the film's promos hit the theatres with 1,125 prints.

Courtesy: Khabrein.info

Tanishq Brings Back Mughal Romance With 'Jodhaa-Akbar' Range

Two hundred craftsmen worked for 600 days, moulded 400 kg of gold and precious and semi-precious stones to recreate jewelleries of Mughal era in Ashutosh Gowariker's historical romance 'Jodhaa Akbar' releasing Friday.

Tanishq, the leading jewellery brand, unveiled the jewellery worn by Aishwarya Rai, who plays the Rajput princess Jodhabai and Hrithik Roshan, who features as Mughal emperor Jalaluddin Akbar, in the movie.

The exquisite pieces include sarpech (feather pin), archer's ring, arsi (mirror ring), bhor (head jewel like in Indian tika) and hansali (choker).

'The wedding set, which Aishwarya wears in the film, is very heavy. It weighs around three-and-a-half kg. It was difficult for her to wear them. In fact, in the interviews she said the hardest part was to wear the jewellery.

'But that was how women lived those days and it is authentic,' Alpana Parida, head marketing & merchandising at Tanishq, told IANS at the unveiling of 'Jodhaa Akbar' jewellery in the capital.

A blend of Mughal and Rajasthani designs, the handcrafted jewels on display are breathtakingly beautiful and give an insight to India's glorious past.

'I think if everything is put together then the total weight will be about 300 kg and it's a huge investment on the part of the company. We have made 13 ensembles for Aishwarya and eight for Hrithik. We have used gold and gems like emeralds, pearls, ruby, tourmaline, jade,' added Parida.

However, she refused divulge the budget.

This is Tanishq's second film venture. Earlier, they collaborated with Shah Rukh Khan for his home production 'Paheli'.

'We had done jewellery for 'Paheli', which was at a much smaller scale because it was Rajasthani jewellery and there wasn't any other definition.'

''Jodhaa Akbar' became a design and research challenge because it had to be the specific Rajput and Mughal traditions of the 16th century and there was very little available from that time. It was a research from the combination of miniature paintings, 'Akbarnama' and old royal families. We also did a lot of research in museums and archives, private collection of various royalties and at the Chitrakala Parishad,' Parida said.

Ask her about the basic difference between Mughal and Rajput jewellery, Parida said: 'The basic difference was that Mughal jewellery was much finer in craftsmanship and Rajput jewellery was more rustic. At that time - Mughals used a lot more pearls than the Rajputs did.'

'Akbar's favourite gem was the emerald. In 'Akbarnama' there are actually blue prints of emerald mines, which Akbar had started and wherever you see him, he wears emeralds, which is the symbol of power.'

Ornaments were created keeping in mind its relevance to the two rich Indian traditions. It was a tedious job for the team working on the jewellery to find details about Jodhabai's jewels.

'For Akbar, we had a lot more literal references, but for Jodha there were very few. We got references from Rajput designs of that time, used motifs that were prevalent at that time, architecture, miniature paintings and through existing pieces from that time.'

In the 16th century, Rajput women use to wear 12 pieces of jewellery. 'Starting with the 'borla' (hair pins) to anklets and we have made sure that we follow the same definition of an ensemble.'

In India, there is a tradition of passing the skills from one generation to other.

'We have unearthed craftsmen. In one particular case, we hired three generations of craftsmen to work on the jewellery. The older generation was not even making jewellery anymore, but we found him in Rajasthan and got him to work for us.'

The designs are mostly 'kundan and meenakari'- inlay work common to Rajasthan. 'The interesting thing about most 'kundan' and 'meenakari' is as many as five craftsman worked on one single piece. One made the mould, another set the stone, one inlaid the pearls and others made the colourful 'meenakari' work. So, each jewel takes a long time to craft. It's not factory-made. The jewellery was handcrafted.

'Women used to wear large thumb rings with mirrors so that they could see their faces in the mirror. Now, setting a mirror in that mould is a special skill and it doesn't exist today. So we had to find craftsman who could recreate it,' Parida said.

Tanishq has no plan to sell these jewels.

'This is a labour of love. Second, it's not wearable because the jewellery is heavy. We have launched the pret collection which is inspired from the 'Jodhaa Akbar' line but as of now, we don't intend to sell it.'

Currently, Tanshiq has 102 stores across the country.

'We will open 30 to 35 stores this year. We are also opening two stores in the US in the next six to eight months.'

Talking about future plans, Parida said: 'We are looking to do films, but only those where jewellery is integral to the film. We don't want to be the part of the props. We want to be the design leaders. Our experience while working on 'Jodhaa Akbar' was fantastic.'

Courtesy: NewspostIndia.com