Dressing Up Buddha

The 78-year old has spent a lifetime in cinema,dressing up actors for more than 40 Hollywood projects like Child’s Play (1988),U-571 ( 2000) and Terminator 3:Rise of the Machines (2003) among others. The Academy Award nomination came in 1995 for her designs in the Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster-starrer Maverick,while the BAFTA followed in 2009 for a romantic drama called The Edge of Love.

Buddha,she adds,threw a big challenge. “This is the first time I am working on a spiritual project,” says Ferry. She recalls how,while designing costumes for the TV series,Rome,in 2006,she had outsourced the production work to an iron and steel factory called Windlass Steelcrafts in Dehradun. “All the equipment like armours,helmets and swords were made by this factory,” she says. For Buddha,she has again turned to the factory for help in designing weapons.

Ferry has also been poring over historical books like Ajanta Caves and Ancient Indian Costumes which Gowarikar has given her. “The biggest challenge for me was flipping through pages and pages to get a clear picture of what life was like back then since there is almost no existing record unlike in European history,” adds the designer.

The costumes for the 34 main characters and more than 2,000 regulars in the film will be made using natural fabric like cotton and silk. Ferry has deliberately avoided synthetic fibre since “these did not exist in Buddha’s time”.

She has completed the design sketches for the main characters. “We are currently draping a mannequin of King Suddhodana,the father of Buddha,in dhoti,cummerbund,jewellery,turban and two-three stoles. There will be 13 changes for this main character. Once we are through with the fitting,we will show it to Gowarikar for his approval. But the actual fitting will be done once the actor is finalised,” says Ferry,who is working out of her workshop-cum-office in Mumbai.

The jewellery for the film will be made with gold and uncut ancient stones. Ferry adds that she is careful to keep the jewellery designs for the main kingdoms like Sakya and Magadha different from each other and according to the social structure. “Since the Sakyas were poorer,we have used gold and regular stones in the jewellery,while Magadhas will wear lots of gold,turquoise and corals,” she explains. These designs are being created in Pune,she adds.

With the shooting expected to start in Jaipur and Manali in August,Ferry is trying to beat the clock. Clearly,there will not be any Zen-like tranquility for now.