Eka Lakhani On Designing For P.S I Characters: 'I Cannot Believe That We Pulled This Off' |Exclusive

Believe it or not, fashion designer and celebrity stylist Eka Lakhani is having quite a grand year- from curating the most amazing looks for the likes of Ranveer Singh and Karan Johar to designing for the characters of Mani Ratnam’s magnum opus, Ponniyin Selvan: I. Eka, who started her career as an intern for Sabyasachi Mukherjee while he was working on Ravaanan, hasn’t had to look back ever since owing to her incredible work.

In this exclusive chat with News18, Eka takes us through one of her biggest works to date, P.S.I and sheds light on her impeccable journey both as a fashion designer as well as a stylist and which one she prefers more-

1. Congratulations on P.S.I, what was the process like for you?

I have known of P.S. I for a very long time, I heard about it almost 10 years ago when Mani Sir called me to offer my first independent film as a fashion designer. Even though it did not happen back then, through the years it always stayed with me because it was the first time that I was part of a conversation that was this big in scale. When it came back to me, I had a rush in my body just thinking about the fact that I was finally going to do this. I always knew of it as Mani Sir’s dream project. For decades people loved and wanted to see Ponniyin Selvan on the big screen so I knew that I had a lot of work to do. It was overwhelming for sure and it was right then that I decided that if I am doing this, I need to dedicate a couple of my years and pour my heart into this film.

2. You have collaborated with Mani Ratnam on several projects prior to this, did that make it any easier for you?

No. Mani Sir is someone who wants to discover new things with every project that he does, he is not a director who has a set rule book and is open to experimenting. His way of making cinema is very different, he is evolving every single day and is also changing things. This particular film was obviously different from the other projects that he and I had worked on before. We had characters that were loved and we had to bring them to life on the big screen and Mani Sir of course wanted to give his own touch. So, this time around it was very different because we did have adjectives as well as references to go by.

3. This was not the first time that you were working on a period drama per se, but in terms of magnitude, it surely was your biggest project. What were some of the challenges that you faced?

Firstly, this project was really research-heavy. The first film that I ever worked on independently was a period drama as you pointed out but it was on a very small scale. It was much more difficult this time around because we were dealing with the golden era of history, a story and a phase our culture is very proud of. Plus, me coming from Bombay and not being introduced to this world in my childhood, so it was a little difficult for me to grasp all of it. Mani Sir was very helpful through it all. I had a historian help me understand the era, how certain things should be worn and cannot be avoided, and small details that cannot be overlooked had to be taken care of.

It was the first ever time that I had to go on a costume recce. In the previous films where I have worked with Mani Sir, he asked me to study things like Michaelangelo’s art, in this particular film he wanted me to understand the Chola brocade, the temples, and the detailing that was done on every nook and corner.

4. You had to constantly focus on minute details, how did you and your work differentiate between Nandini’s and Kundavai’s characters in terms of the way you were styling them or the designs that you were using?

We studied the illustrations that were available to us. Kundavai was supposed to have that top hair bun and Nandini was supposed to have a lower hair bun, these were a few points that had to be kept in mind. Then I sat down with Mani Sir and came to the conclusion that we should differentiate in their styling and looks based on who they are and that lead us to denote colours and silhouettes based on the same.

Kundavai was born royalty and was always aware of her position and rights, she was a woman with a voice amongst men and was raised along with her brothers and was extremely independent and which had to show on the screen. With this the outfit needed to complement her, we did not want to have flowy drapes on her but wanted her to have a more sculpted look. If you notice, her saree is well-draped at all times. At the same time, we wanted her to have a very soft heart and so we used really soft colours on her and the outfit.

When it came to Nandini, we used darker colours because she is a woman who knows how to use her beauty to get her way ahead. She is aware of the male gaze and is aware of her effect on the male gaze. Mani Sir wanted her to have a very mysterious look and that is what we tried to achieve with translucent dupattas. We played with black and indigo blue to show that even though she was not born into royalty, she was proud of the fact that she acquired it eventually. We went through hundreds of look tests and sometimes when I see the characters on screen, I cannot believe that we pulled this off.

5. Coming to the male characters, how did inspiration strike you?

I did not find much information from the illustrations when it came to the male characters. The war looks were incredibly hard to achieve. Men needed to have the royal look, the war look, their travel looks and their mid-royal looks. For Vikram sir, we wanted to crack his war look first for instance and we used the Chola emblem as the inspiration behind Vikram Sir’s armour. If you look very closely at the armour, there is an entire battlefield inscribed on it. The tiger face was used as thigh guards. Mani sir wanted him to look brave and courageous so we locked the colours, deep burgundy and black.

For Jayam Ravi, we used the elephant tusk as his armour and went for a lighter brown shade so that it is not too harsh. We used lighter colours on him. For Karthi, he is travelling through the film so we had to keep that in mind and used soft leather for his armour. His look had to be one that does not bore anyone.

6.  Is there any one particular character who you thought was very difficult to design and style for?

We were very confused as to what we should be doing with Poonguzhali because while the rest of the characters were royalty we could use silk and jewellery to elevate their looks. She had to be a very striking character but we could not use fancy things on her. We used basic fabric on her, used mulmul in different shades and just had fun with that.

7. To move our focus back to you, you are both a stylist as well as a fashion designer. But, people often think both are the same things…

I know and guess what I often get asked about how different they are even from my own relatives and immediate family. It is confusing and I understand why because these are finer boundaries that the audience does not always know about. I was not a stylist a year and a half ago, I am primarily a costume designer and I definitely love that more because I love films way over fashion. I like the fact that I can be a part of the film industry through fashion.

8. Over time and again, you have acknowledged the fact that Ranveer Singh is most certainly your muse as a stylist. Why is that so? Are there other celebrities you thoroughly love styling for?

People started to know me as a stylist because of Ranveer Singh and Karan Johar. They pushed me to be a stylist and I have enjoyed working with them so much, I do not think I could have found better muses. If people had asked me prior to this about who I would be interested in styling, these were the two names that I would take. My earthy fashion sense comes into being when I am working with Mani sir, and at the same time, Karan opened my world to luxury fashion. Ranveer is a magic boy, he can make anything work. I enjoy that he takes fashion very seriously.

For women, it is Aditi Rao Hyadari and Kiara Advani that I love styling the most, my sensibilities have looked the best on them is what I believe. I am a stylist because of the four of them.

9. Who would you want to be styled by if you had the chance?

Nobody has asked me that before and so you know I have not thought about this before. I would love to be styled by Karan Johar, he loves his luxury fashion so I know he would get me the best of everything.

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10. On the work front, you have quite a lot happening for you including a Shah Rukh Khan film…

I am a dreamer and I am lucky that a lot of my dreams have true. It is a dream for everyone to be around Shah Rukh and trust me he is such a humble person that he will make work easier for you. I am looking forward to that. Apart from that, everyone should wait for P.S.II because it is going to be ten times better. The looks are much more detailed and elaborate, so I am also waiting for it.

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