Old Kool

The film,he admits,has been an emotional journey. To source fabric and costumes,he visited bazaars that he would frequent as a child with his now deceased mother. “Ileana’s (D’Cruz) saris are a tribute to the saris my mother wore. I had my father send me two of my mum’s saris,which Ileana wears in the film,” says he.

Kolkata is famed for its Bengali cotton and Dhakai muslin,among other weaves. Then there’s also the Lalpaar,the red-bordered white sari. Narula is happy to offer some shopping tips: the Dakshinapan market has old-school shops specialising in Bengali weaves and fabric. The stretches of Gariahat is a famous south Kolkata haunt. Meera Basu’s saris are legendary,as is the Bhojraj sari store in Rashbehari. Chamba Lamba in the New Market is a lovely tribal jewellery shop. “The antique shops of north Kolkata are wonderful. This is where the zamindars originated from,” says Narula.

Basu,an authentic Bengali to boot,was amazed how Narula had recreated the Bengali gent’s mood for Kapoor,right from a plastic comb to applying Brylcreem in the hair and batik kurtas worn with white trousers. There’s also a particular slipper from Khadim’s that Kapoor wears,and Bata shoes “because Bengalis only wore Bata shoes”. Narula adds,“Kolkata is an absolutely different world,a big part of it refuses to modernise. Our snob value comes from the fact that we preserve culture.”