Vicky Donor’s Dolly Ahluwalia wants to be a costume designer

Dolly Ahluwalia's alternate career as a costume designer is more than just about measurements.

Being a household name comes with its baggage. But when we tell actor Dolly Ahluwalia that we want to write about her inclination towards costume designing,her lips curl up in a wide grin. You want me to go back to the 70s, says Ahluwalia.

I was doing a French collaboration project,The Burning Season,when I received a call from Bobby Bedis assistant asking me to come over to Delhi. I had to tell them that I will be busy for a month, she says. Due to heavy rains,the set got flooded and the crew was given three days off. Thats when she headed to Delhi for the meeting. I enter Bobby Bedis house,and see the most handsome Shekhar Kapur sitting there. I couldnt control myself and I asked him can I hug you please?,she says. The exchanged a few words about bandits,and she was signed up for Bandit Queen. It was just eye contact,faith and a few exchange of words that meant I was in. What I am today as a costume designer is because of this, she says.

From then on,she chose her directors. And what followed was an impressive list of filmmakers Deepa Mehta,Vishal Bhardwaj,Imtiaz Ali,Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra,

among others.

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I look for trust and faith vis-a-vis the discussions. There are lots of ups and downs,but in a very positive way, she says,elaborating about her experience in Love Aaj Kal. They had already started shooting abroad. When I sent my sketches,Imtiaz (Ali) must have seen three or four of them, she says.

The recurring motif in her works is the same,a search for realism. Fashion is a vicious circle. You come,you travel and you end up at the same spot. Whatever films I do,I try to stick to a base. And that solid platform is realism. In realistic films,theres something more to play around,something new to create. Thats why I go for period films more, she says.

The proposed fantasy of Hindi cinema has always attracted fashion designers and they are the ones in the news. Trained at the National School of Drama,Ahluwalia made her mark in films,with Vicky Donor. Though it wasnt easy when she started. In the 80s,theatre was still a struggle. How often could you ask for money from your parents? I waited for sometime but nothing happened, she explains. Then her guru,Ebrahim Alkazis observation gave her new direction. He told me that I have a great eye for costume. He made me. I have done no course. Its my lifes observations that Im trying to translate into the big screen, she says.

Ahluwalia never suppressed the actor in her. It found solace in the characters she was designing for,illuminating her craft and picturing the body. As an actor I can see myself in all the characters Ive designed. Be it Langda Tyagi,or Charlie and Sweety in Kaminey,I feel the texture and the colours. I have lived those characters, she says. Films or not,theatre has always quench her thirst for acting. Then Vicky Donor happened.

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Will costume designing take a backseat now considering her popularity as an actor? I have got two children now to keep a balance. I always do one project to keep a balance. If I take three projects,I feel Im cheating on the other two. So,I am sorted that way. For acting,Im looking for real projects. Even if its five scenes but is a juicy character, she says.

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