Imagine how difficult it is to design the look of a character who is believed to be the oldest man in the world. When director Nag Ashwin first narrated the story of this character. Kalki 2898 AD Hyderabad-based fashion designer Archana Rao fell in love with the Mahabharata-inspired character Ashwatthama, played by Amitabh Bachchan, about four years ago. She started imagining him in a science fiction setting in 2898 A.D. Archana worked closely with Nag Ashwin. greatness and short film xLife From the Netflix Telugu anthology pitta kathaluwas ready for the creative challenges that lay ahead.
Archana, a well-known name in the Indian fashion world, while talking from America, said that she is currently on a visit to America. Kalki 2898 AD This is the first film for which he designed costumes for the entire cast. greatnessGaurang Shah designed the costumes for Keerthy Suresh while he designed costumes for Dulquer Salmaan, Vijay Deverakonda and Samantha Ruth Prabhu and few other actors.
From Savitri biopic to science fiction
in the initial stages KalkiNag Ashwin’s only condition was that Archana oversee the costume design for the entire film. “This proved to be challenging and a huge change in my career. Coming from a fashion designer background, I was pleasantly surprised at how naturally I took to costume designing greatnessArchana and Gaurang received the National Award for Best Costume Design for that film in recognition of the work they did in that film.
Designer: Archana Rao | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Kalki A new approach was needed. “I hadn’t seen many science fiction films. I knew it would be difficult but I also knew I would have a new perspective. I decided to jump right in.”
He stepped in knowing it would be an ambitious project. “We planned one segment, one character, one act at a time so it wouldn’t feel intimidating. For all of us – the directing team, costume design, production design, cinematography – it was like working on several small projects within one big project.”
Sub world
Prabhas as Bhairava in ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
In a promotional video, Nag Ashwin explains that the story is set in three backdrops – Kashi becomes the last city, which talks of survival of the fittest, an inverted pyramid city called the Complex, which has essential resources like food and water, and Shambala which becomes a refuge.
Each of these worlds required a specific design approach, Archana says. “We would bounce ideas off each other,” she says, recalling the planning stages, during which discussions would take place between Nag Ashwin, producers Priyanka and Swapna Dutt, the cinematography department led by Djordje Stojiljkovic, and the production design led by Nitin Jihani Chowdhary.
She explains by citing the example of Kashi, where people survive with very little. “We had to think about what materials would be available and what people would wear if this was the last surviving city. We thought about waste materials like metal, plastic, rubber and other synthetics… Their costumes had to be a collage of things. We had to distress the costumes in a way that they looked old (worn) but had an Indian ethos. We worked closely with the art department to get that vintage look.” The colour palette was decided in coordination with the cinematography and art departments. “We made a lot of prototypes and did look tests. The costumes and accessories had to be dynamic.”
There was no hierarchy on set, says Archana. Everyone got their hands dirty to get the job done. “For a film of this scale, we all worked in compact teams,” says Archana. The costume department consisted of five people who designed more than 100, sometimes more than a thousand costumes. “Initially it seemed difficult, but it was also easy to coordinate because we knew what everyone was doing.”
The ‘raiders’ or the army of the complex needed costumes and armor that would make them look strong and intimidating. Interestingly, the starting point for this was a mask inspired by the traditional ‘ Disthi Bomma‘ (a doll to protect against the evil eye). “The masks were our idea Disthi Bomma“The Raiders’ suits were created using rubber-coated neoprene fabric,” says Archana. “We experimented with poly oil and collaborated with the art department to sculpt the metal armor. Although these costumes were monotonous, we wanted the light to hit the sculpted parts of the armor and create a tonal shift.”
There was a lot of trial and error involved, Archana says. “We kept refining the attackers’ costumes to make them durable for the action sequences.”
as old as a tree
Amitabh Bachchan as Ashwathama | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The first character that Archana designed was for Ashwatthama. “Our main inspiration was to make him look as old as a tree.” The fine muslin cotton fabric was subjected to multiple dyeing processes. “We distressed the fabric to the extent that it appeared transparent and the tree bark motif was printed on the fabric. The fabric itself had to look like it was hanging on by its last thread.” The many bandages that wrapped Ashwatthama’s wounds had to look as if they were soaked in blood and turmeric.
Recalling the first look test with Amitabh Bachchan, Archana says, “The moment he wore the costume, he looked fabulous.” Still overwhelmed by the experience of working with the legendary actor, she adds, “He was the most hardworking actor on the set.”
Those who have seen the animated prequel Bhairava and Bujji Get to know how Prabhas as Bhairava, a bounty hunter, builds an AI-enabled car Bujji (Bu-jj-1) from scrap metal in his upcoming film on Amazon Prime Video. “We took a similar approach for his suit and armour, imagining how he would make something out of discarded material around him. On the chest plate of the armour, we gave him a motif inspired by Kantha embroidery. His suit had to be functional for all movements. So we used foam latex. Bhairava’s suit that we designed was made by a suit manufacturer in California. There are fun details on his boots like boosters attached to them that will help him fly in the air. His costume also has shin guards for protection.”
However, Archana doesn’t say anything about the costumes for Kamal Haasan, Deepika Padukone and the people of Shambala.
Factory-like production
on the set, The art and costume departments worked almost around the clock. “Even when we started designing for a particular need a month in advance, there were times when we needed 50 extra pieces of civilian clothing or more costumes for the raiders and bounty hunters. Since we had prototypes, we made do. When we had to create something from scratch, the art department would help with the molding.”
Archana recalls how every little detail was planned in advance. “If there is a tattoo on a character’s body, a scar or a slight change in the colour of the costume, everything happens for a reason.”
Compared to designing greatnessFor which he had reference from old films and photographs, Kalki She says this involved a new design language without any reference point. “We kept improvising until Nagi approved. The whole process was exciting and challenging, working according to the script and coordinating with different departments.”
