A foray into the world of glamour

This evening was a special evening for both, Lekha and me. Sonia, daughter of Tommy( I was his Prefect and House Captain in school, years back) and Pinky who were our neighbours in Tarangini Apartments, Kochi, had come down to spend the evening with us. She’s a costume designer in Bollywood and has done movies like ‘Chak de India’, ‘Rab de bana di jodi’, etc and is currently involved in the movie, ‘Break ke baad’, starring Imran Khan, Deepika Padukone and Sharmila Tagore with a host of other actors. She’d specifically come to select the costumes for Sharmila Tagore and from what one could understand, these actors can give them a really tiring time with their tantrums and can be extremely difficult at times, to these silent workers behind the camera!
We’d seen this talented young girl who was full of energy and extremely good at whatever she picked up, in her younger days. After her schooling, though she’d given the medical entrance examinations, she eventually joined the National Institute of Fashion Design, Bangalore which was where her heart was and passed out as the best student in her course. Work was not difficult to come by, for her and she soon found herself working for the designers called ‘Munch’. And then by the sheer quality of her work, ‘Chak de India’ happened and there was no looking back and today, she keeps incredibly crazy hours at work, honing her skills and striving to do her best in everything she attempts.
Costume designing for a movie involves being aware of the script thoroughly, so that every frame is visualized and worked out to such perfection, that the personal effects of each and everyone within a frame is correctly conceptualized and executed. Well, truly an amazing utilization of talent and as I understand, it’s definitely not a field for lesser mortals lacking in imagination.
Sonia, good luck to you in all your endeavours and here’s us wishing that you win an Oscar for your efforts, just like Bhanu Athaiya did years back for her efforts in the Richard Attenborough film ‘Gandhi’, in the not too distant future!!