Dressing up characters
Costume designer Niharika Bhasin Khan on capturing the spirit of “Fan”
Talking to Niharika Bhasin Khan is as refreshing as a mint mocktail with a peppery hint. Even simplicity needs crafting and the costume designer has attempted to bring two variants of Shah Rukh Khan – Gaurav and Aryan in Fan. Niharika is known for her works as varied as Rocket Singh and Band Baaja Baarat. From subtle to loud, she loves to play with all the hues as long as the final colour scheme defines the character. So be it Vidya Balan in The Dirty Picture or Nimrat Kaur in The Lunchbox, Niharika tastes the script to style her characters. Here she delves on her body of work and what it takes for the characters to come to life.
Excerpts from an interview:
How did you capture the characters' sensibilities through costumes?
I do a lot of recce to build up the nuances of my characters. I search for fabrics that can be associated with the sensibilities and background sketch of the personality. Spending time sitting at a park, observing people, kids and studying their mannerisms also helps. Three things form the backbone of a character – the securities and insecurities of an actor, vision of the director and the designer’s understanding of the actor’s body type. And therefore, Gaurav’s clothes are a result of my experience and observation coupled with Maneesh Sharma’s memories of Delhi. Aryan is closer to Shah Rukh Khan, the superstar. So I researched his old films and added a celebrity character to his very skin. It is a synergy that brings out the characters.
How did you explore Old Delhi and use it in your work?
Maneesh respects me as a technical person and it was very liberating to have worked with him again after Band Baaja Baraat. He and I brainstormed a lot on how to pick up the peculiarities of the city. I am myself not a fan or follower of anyone or anyone’s culture. So to get a deeper understanding of the fan culture I befriended Shah Rukh’s fans and interacted with them. Gradually, things were put in perspective, forming the characters’ frame.
The film has been shot in many places including Dubrovnik, London, Mumbai and Delhi. Did they play a role in defining the wardrobe of the characters?
Oh yes, definitely. When a person travels along different places, the peculiarity of weather of a particular place decides the wardrobe. It is personality trait that people in general carry. A person mostly dresses up according to the place.
How do colours define characters?
I am very particular about colours. Gaurav’s clothes have every single colour in the book whereas Aryan’s outfits are subdued and sophisticated. Superstars already have the charm and aura around them and they do not have to vie for attention. They are better pictured black and white or in a monochromatic scheme of colours. So, colours do not overshadow Aryan’s personality. In a film like Band Baaja Baraat it was all about Indian clothes, and they being inherently so vibrant expanded my horizon.
How far did you take cinematic liberty?
Very far! A job of a designer is to convey a point of view. It is time to make people understand and accept the character, his background and the way he behaves. For me it is all part of a fantasy. For instance, when I worked in Rocket Singh-Salesman of the Year, I had to convince salespersons of their dressing style. The job is to convince the target audience.
Having worked on such varied films, how do you play a different ballgame every time?
It is a question of research and an understanding to putting it together. One of my key skills is observation. I try to pick up things that interest me and translate it according to the script. At times it is so funny because I try not to be stereotypical but then some films demand me to be one. It’s a juxtaposition that I play with.
Do you consider yourself a couturier or a stylist?
Couturier is about fashion design and creating style or seasons of retail. Bollywood is the trend today. It happens to be the season. I am not studying seasons of retail. It’s all about the characters. I am a stylist who builds up subtleties, nuances, mannerisms, behaviour of a person through my work. I'm creating characters, not seasons of style.
Your latest source of inspiration
Recently, I happened to meet some advertising chaps and their dressing style was so cool and quirky that it clicked with me! I take inspiration from anything and everything.
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