Playing the Right Cards

There was a time when theatre groups mainly performed period plays that revolved around kings,saints,warriors and other larger-than-life figures.

There was a time when theatre groups mainly performed period plays that revolved around kings,saints,warriors and other larger-than-life figures. While the sets boasted elaborately historic looks,the costumes comprised flowing tunics,ornamented head gears and ornate jewellery. Over the last few years,the theatre canvas has undergone a change. Realism has pervaded sets,characters and costumes. With the change in the wind,city-based costumes-on-rent shops,that once catered only to theatre groups,have switched clientele.

The owner of Jadhav Natya Sansar,Rupali Jadhav says that though in the past five years the demand for theatre costumes has reduced,she has noticed a simultaneous shift in the trends of dance,which has helped them sustain in the market. She adds that an increasing number of dance troupes are adding drama to their dance sequences and,consequently,using dramatic costumes and props to heighten the effect. There are many dance troupes who come here to rent traditional costumes that suit century-old themes and stories, she informs.

Busy searching for the perfect hip-hop costume at the shop,Rohit Mulik,of the dance troupe Fusion Showdown,says,Dance is no longer just a performing act. It needs to be an awe-inspiring audio-visual experience and costumes come in handy when you have to get the theme across to the audience.

After being associated with the theatre world for around 50 years,Raghunath Dresses,a shop on Shaniwar Peth,started exploring other avenues around four years back. The number of customers started dwindling in the past few years. That’s when we realised that there was another market for the costumes we already had Bollywood dance shows. We started keeping a track of which songs are doing well and picked up costumes according to the trend, says Milind Karambelkar,owner of Raghunath Dresses. The dancers are always obsessed with the latest in Bollywood. The current trend is elephant bottom pants,leather jackets and bhangra costumes, he adds.

Around six decades back,cashing in on the buzzing theatre scene of the city,Pramod Gokhale’s father started Mak Drap,a costume shop on Narayan Peth. The business flourished over the years. However,three years ago,the son realised that they need to change their business strategy. “Though we still have our old collection,we upgraded our stock with a whole range of costumes for western dances,frilly skirts,bow ties and waist coats for salsa,funky sequined jackets with matching caps and pants for hip-hop and gowns and tuxedos for ball room dance and more,” says Gokhale. With more and more new dance competition reality shows on television,everyone wants to add more dimensions to their dance performance. Every performance must come with a new theme with well planned costumes , adds the son.

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