Exclusive: Costume Designer Veera Kapur On Dressing Triptii Dimri, Babil Khan, And Building The World Of ‘Qala’
The kalakaar behind Qala's costumes!
Fashion and films have shared a delightful bond for years. In films today, everything from picking a colour palette to choosing the right style has found a spot in discussions among makers. The idea of weaving the canvas with utmost colours, and creativity is what binds the narrative for viewers today. And applying a similar formula is Netflix’s latest release–Qala. Featuring–Tripti Dimri, Babil Khan, and Swastika Mukherjee in pivotal roles, this Anvita Dutt directorial won hearts with its heart-wrenching tale, scenic views, vintage set design and enthralling fashion.
Talking about the latter, costume designer–Veera Kapur joined me in a conversation to discuss the world of Qala, which takes a deeper dive into a thousand shades of grey. Kapur, who is known to have worked on projects like–Sardar Udham, Piku, Pink, Bulbbul, and more reunited with filmmaker Anvita Dutt to bring the world of Qala to life. On an early morning, we sat together to discuss the detailed sarees, ethereal zardozi, traditional jewellery, and significant motifs, as Kapur happily narrated every story that went behind building Qala.
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Q: What was the vision behind the costumes of Qala? What was the brief that was given to you?
Veera Kapur: One thing you need to know about the director of Qala–Anvita Dutt, is that she is very clear about the world that she wants to create. She has extreme clarity and that makes our job really easy because I feel a film’s always a director’s baby and it helps us when the person has clarity and vision, so helps us create better. So she’s written the story, and she knows the place that she wants to showcase. She has a great knowledge of the kind of fabrics that she wants to use. So we worked on that. We worked together on coming to certain colours and depicting a certain mood, associating it with certain things like shades of grey for mercury. And if you’ve seen the film, you know the role Mercury plays in the film.
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So, these are the little things, and there are certain paintings and artworks that also inspired her in terms of the colour palettes. We’ve gone with certain colours for the hills. We’ve gone with certain colours for Kolkata city. So that journey, as well as the period, the use of organza fabrics, the zardozi embroidery. It’s a lot of meetings, and discussions that gets you here.
Q: The fabric and colours in Qala’s wardrobe signify a mix of power dressing, and emotions that she hides in herself. What was the significance of organza as a fabric and also the colour palette, which gradually shifts to grey?
Veera Kapur: When we met Tripti, we had one simple organza saree, and we put it on her and it was in a shade of grey. And then we realised we saw these swatch books and we wanted to do different shades of grey and play around with that. We started her off with an off-white saree, just a plain, simple off-white organza when she starts her singing career.
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She is like a softer girl and then she goes into the shades of grey. It is how her emotions are taking over and what is happening in her life. So, that’s basically the process of how we got there. And it basically is the director’s vision. We see something, we like it and we think it’s gonna work. You go with that conviction and that’s what it is.
Q: Most of Qala’s sarees presented motifs of dragonflies, particularly moths. The same month motif is often seen in the form of lamps, and wallpapers in the home she shares with her mom, as seen in the flashbacks. What was the significance of the motif in her wardrobe, and overall in the film?
Veera Kapur: I keep mentioning this, but Anvita loves moths and everything to do with them. So what we started doing was that we started building the sarees with this idea of the moth. I also took out some images and we got inspired by these certain images and we decided that as she grows, we make the moth grow. So we had certain sarees that had a wing. And then we had some with two wings on them. Then we had a saree with a small moth on it. Then we had saree with a slightly bigger moth. And then in the end we have that bigger dragonfly. So, we just went with this. Like even in the song when you see the black feathers, with all those moths. So, it is basically an idea that has been taken further and incorporated into the costume also.
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Q: And what were your inspiration points for that?
Veera Kapur: The inspiration points were the director’s vision.That’s what I would say about incorporating the moth. You have that idea, and slowly you start working on it. As I said, we came up with the idea that let’s incorporate it in the sarees, one level at a time. We are increasing the moth. And similarly, it was done even in the production design. You know, where the moth was used in that song, how those dancers, the feathers convert into the moths flying so it comes in there.
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Q: Today, costume design plays an important role in pushing the plot forward. How did costume help push the narrative in Qala?
Veera Kapur: Definitely, it does. It creates an overall mood. That’s why we today discuss colour palettes. I don’t think in some of the earlier films people would even discuss a colour palette. It was any colour, anything that looked, anything that went in the scene. Now we plan, like in the hills, we view certain deep colours. The mother is a widow, so her Bakus are darker colours, even if there’s a hint of purple, a hint of dark green. But there is a deeper colour, whereas she, as a younger girl has worn shades of greens, and blues, but there’s always a little element of grey somewhere, but lesser when she’s younger. So it’s definitely the colour palettes are important.
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It all leads to the mood. That’s how the whole character is built up, if suddenly you saw her in bright pink or an orange, it would not fit or would look out of place. It would look really look out of place. So, the costumes help build the entire character. It’s a very important part of the process.
Q: Do you see that directors are open to such artistic suggestions? Is it changing?
Veera Kapur: Yes, they are. A lot of directors now, understand colour palettes. They’re getting more and more interested in it. They want things to look cinematically correct, beautiful, and aesthetically correct. Yes, we are a country with a lot of colours, but it depends on how you use the colour. That change is definitely coming.
Q: Talking about Swastika and Babil’s characters. What was the inspiration behind their looks in the film?
Veera Kapur: Mostly with her jewellery, we tried to depict it from Himachal. All the traditional jewellery is actually from Himachal. Swastika herself when we met her was wearing a very interesting nose spin.
And then the whole conversation came out about nose spins. So, some of the nose spins that she’s used are actually her personal. And then this neck thing that I got it made, which is called Husli. It is the silver thing which she wears on a regular basis. Then all the traditional jewellery that she has worn in that scene when Jagan sings for the first time, it is actually traditional jewellery, which includes the nose piece and all, we got somebody to get it from Himachal. Then the big jewellery, the director actually went herself to get it from antique stores. So, it is all these little, little ideas that the team has put together.
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For Babil, his costumes are pretty much simple, and straightforward. There is a pagri (turban) element that we added to depict a certain time, depict a certain grace of the character, his love, his passion for his music. But there’s a simplicity.
There are shades of grey because again, there’s a reason, there’s a story behind it. So we start off with beige and browns, but we do add our basics. So that’s his journey. Again, the fabrics, the winter, and the climate help us add in a lot of tweeds and shawls. There’s how texture comes in from the winter and the climate.
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Also Read: Triptii Dimri Has The ‘Qala’ Of Looking Fab In Both A Saree, And Sporty Denim. We Are Obsessed With Her Understated Glam
Q: What was also interesting was Varun Grover’s character donning a red nail colour. That was a subtle way to tell audiences about the queer character. How did you come up with that?
Veera Kapur: Again, I would give the credit to Anvita for that. She really wanted to try that, and once we did, we were like, okay, fine. This, I think works. It’s a statement in itself. It’s a message. So we went with it and even Varun really wanted to do it.
Q: Can you take us back to the world of young Qala, and her costumes then? How does age and money play a role in building her closet?
Veera Kapur: Like when she’s in Himachal, the first thing you’re dressed according to is the climate. So, she was wearing Baku. She’s a young girl. She’s following traditional attire, fabrics that compliment the weather. She’s wearing tweeds and things like that. Then when she grows up, she sees her mother in a saree, she’s seen her mother in Kolkata in a saree, right? So, it is a natural transition when you come to a music studio, you’re in Kolkata. She cannot be in winter clothes there. So she’s dressed up in a saree which is simple, which is white. It is soft and goes with her young, simple personality. Her hair is different. She has a little braid going across. She has the fringe, so she’s a younger girl.
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And then as she grows, we add the colour grey that’s become like her statement. And obviously, then the hair has changed, and the diamonds come in. Because she has also become a big singer. It’s not a story of a few days. It’s a journey of a person over a period of time. So that time has changed things from smaller earrings to bigger ones. It’s like when money comes in, what she can afford, when she’s wearing that big choker, she’s posing for a photograph.
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She’s having a photo session, so she’s dressed up accordingly. She’s learned the ways, the ways to sit and live in this place. We never showed her going back to the hills. Probably if she went back she would wear Baku like her mother. Probably a little more embellished. I mean, one learns to adapt to their surroundings with age.
Q: How was it collaborating with Tripti Dimri?
Veera Kapur: Tripti is a really sweet person. This is my second film with her. She’s a very easy person to work with and also because of her amazing understanding with Anvita, she kind of gives into the character and moulds herself according to the character. She simply has never been like “I don’t wear this or let’s not do this.” Not at all. She surrenders to her role and works on her skills.
And as long as she knows that we are all working aesthetically towards it, and when she herself sees her picture, she feels happy, she feels like she’s part of the world of Qala. So, she always has been a very, very positive and amazing experience.
Also Read: The Warmth In Tabu And Babil’s Relationship At The Premiere Of ‘Qala’ Must Be Making Irrfan Khan Smile From Above!
Q: In sarees worn by supporting characters, we saw some of the female characters donning bold prints. Like the female photographer working in a male dominant industry, her salmon pink saree featured bold floral designs all over. Was it a conscious effort to signify power through designs?
Veera Kapur: Yes. We decided that as she’s based on a true character, as you know, the first female photographer and when we were looking at her sarees, we were seeing a lot of solid colours. Later we decided, fine, she has two scenes. Let her be in these lovely printed sarees. Let her be the one with the prints. And we went with that. It’s again, an idea that comes up and you have the courage to incorporate it. And when you have a director who supports the vision, who says that, yes, let’s do this, and she’s very clear in her head.
Q: How was it collaborating with Anvita Dutt? And what were your takeaways from this experience?
Veera Kapur: This is my second collaboration with Anvita. I also did–Bulbbul, it’s only gotten better and better. And I have worked with many directors and everybody has a different set of aesthetics, a different understanding of filmmaking, which is amazing. There’s just so much to learn. When we even start a project initially, there are a lot of discussions. We come up with fabrics. She loves to sit with each and every cutting of fabric, be it for the Baku, what is the inside layer. So after all that discussion is done, on the shoot, she’s the easiest person to work with for me because we actually lock every scene and every outfit for every scene, and it works great.
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I feel 20 years in the industry, I’ve just begun learning. There is so much still to learn and with what I enjoy the most is I learn so much. I learned so many new things. I see her interest in art and culture, in fabrics and textures, and I love it. She’s a dear friend and I personally see that in everything that she chooses, everything that she chooses to wear, even on a daily basis. I feel after working with her, I come out having grown and learned a lot.
Q: In terms of costume design, tell us a film/show that you recently watched and loved it.
Veera Kapur: Wow, it’s gonna take me a lot of time. Well, I liked the costumes of Gangubai Kathiawadi, I must say. That’s a film which I’ve seen recently. I did like the film and I think her white sarees were beautiful, had textures and there was a lot of detail. Everything was really beautiful.
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Q: What would be a dream collaboration for you?
Veera Kapur: I’m really lucky and I’m blessed and I’ve already had my dream collaborations. Shoojit Sircar is my guide and my guru, my first director. And I’ve had an amazing equation with sir, and now with Anvita. I think I can’t be greedy and ask for more. So I’ve had my dream collaborations. Whatever else comes along the way would be a blessing.
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