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By Karan Shah
For designer Dolly Ahluwalia, styling Shahid Kapoor, Tabu, Irrfan and Kay Kay Menon’s characters in Haider was a huge challenge, but one that she would have given her soul to be a part of.
Since the story is set in the turbulent ’90s, the designer, for a major part relied on the internet, to provide details about the kind of clothes and the look that was prevalent at that time. Besides this, Ahluwalia who has several friends in Kashmir, relied on their memories and poured over albums of old photographs to understand the cultural milieu of the place. She even visited the valley to gather first hand information about the fabrics that the locals used and the way they dressed. After a brainstorming session with the director Vishal Bhardwaj, a rough sketch was given, before finalising the looks for the actors in the movie. “Irrfan,” says Ahluwalia, “was very patient and surrendered to the hairstylist and the make-up man, saying, ‘do whatever you want to,” and sat patiently through the long hours of make up that was required for his look. Shahid has three different looks in the movie and all the looks had to reflect his journey and the influence that his grandfather and father had on his persona. “In the beginning, I used a lot of check prints for Shahid. This in a way symbolises the web in which the people of Kashmir are caught in,” states the designer, adding that, “Tabu was also shown transitioning from a middle class family to a higher class through the change in the rich quality of fabrics used for her outfits, while Kay Kay Menon’s look is inspired from Omar Abdullah.”
OUTFITS
All the materials were sourced from Delhi. The robes and kurtas were embroidered and stitched at the workshop. Considering the climatic conditions, mostly woollens and thick fabrics were used. Ahluwalia reveals that the royal family gave them Pashminas worth lakhs, that helped in giving an authentic look to Haider and his father.
LOOK
Since the story was about the emotional trauma that Haider goes through, he was given a tonsured look. Also scars were created with make-up and the three lines painted below the eyes reflected the craziness and feeling of desolation that Haider undergoes when he realises the truth behind his father’s disappearance.
TABU
Look : In the beginning, Ahluwalia gave her lighter colours and normal fabrics to wear, as she is shown hailing from a middle class family. But after she is married to Khurram, Tabu was draped in rich fabrics and colours to symbolise the change in status.
OUTFITS : The gold embroided dresses, long kaftans, thread-woven shawls and hand-crafted dupattas that were a part of Tabu’s look was sourced from Delhi and given shape in Ahluwalia’s workshop.
IRRFAN
LOOK: The most difficult task was to maintain the ghost-like look of Roohdaar. The scar that the character sports was the result of hours of make-up, the toughest part being to retain that look throughout the film.
OUTFITS: In the first draft, Ahluwalia wanted to create Roohdaar as a speck of dot that has travelled from space taking a definite form in the process. Keeping that in mind, she decided to dress him in flowing white robes, thus giving the impression of the character emerging from the clouds or snow. Even the snow capped terrain becomes a pulsating character, reflecting the various emotions of the people of the valley, be it anger, anguish or love.
KAY KAY MENON
LOOK : For Kay Kay Menon, the designer styled him on the lines of the chief minister of Kashmir, Omar Abdullah and that’s how his outfits were selected. To give authenticity to his look, Ahluwalia stitched the Kashmiri cap, called karakul in her workshop.
OUTFITS : Most of the time, Menon wore trap pants and shirts. It’s only during elections, that he wore sherwanis.
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