Designer Vipul Amar and psychologist Harsheen Arora researched for months before recreating the military look for Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor in Padmavati. By Team Viva
After grabbing eyeballs with the stunning warrior look of Sushant Singh Rajput in Raabta, designer Vipul Amar and psychologist Harsheen Arora have combined their forces to create a realistic military look for Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh in Padmavati.
With director Sanjay leela Bhansali breathing down their necks and insisting on period realism, the duo had their task cut out. “They first approached us to create one look for Ranveer Singh’s earlier battles in the film and then, they also asked us to create the armour for Shahid Kapoor’s final battle. After Bhansali saw the specimens, he loved them so much that he then asked us to create one for Khilji’s final battle as well,” says Vipul. In fact, the armour for the final battle was revealed to them on Bhansali’s birthday and going by his reaction, it was the ideal birthday surprise.
The armour for the film is a result of back-breaking research not only in terms of authenticity but also functionality. The duo consulted an engineer to incorporate robotics. “Authenticity and mobility of the armour was our prime concern as it’s imperative that the actor is able to perform stunts in it. Hence, we carried out thorough research on the armoury and weaponry of the era around which the film revolves. We employed actual historical techniques to create the armoured vests such as cuirboilli technique, sculpting, chiselling, inlaying to name a few, while making sure they align with today’s standards of comfort and weightlessness,” says Vipul.
Accompanying historical and functional research, the construction of each armour also comprises Harsheen’s expertise of psychological analysis of the characters being portrayed by Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh as actors along with Bhansali’s vision of his characters. Ratan Singh is an embodiment of love and patriotism while Allaudin Khilji embodies conquest and invasion. Interestingly, even though the same materials have been used in their respective gear, they have been treated differently to depict their opposing personalities. Both the characters are so strong and contrasting that the challenges while designing for both cannot be compared. The techniques used in creating an armour for both of them vary drastically.
Says Harsheen, “Once I was able to get into the psyche of Maharawal Ratan Singh, it helped in bringing elements to his armour that represent nobility and honour. Even the colours used for Shahid’s armour show just that. The blood red depicts honour, love, and eagerness to serve one’s land and the deep gold stands for courage, generosity and passion.” Not only that, the design elements in Shahid Kapoor’s armour are inspired by the sun rays and the chest-plate is coloured like the Rajputana soil at different times of the day.
On the other hand, Allaudin Khilji’s armour represents the Sultan that he envisioned himself as. “The leather lions on his shoulders show his strong-headedness. The lions have been chiselled and hammered to bring into form as part of the technique which is also symbolic to Khilji’s conquest. Also, the darkness of the character has been enhanced by engraving reptile scales on the lion heads,” says Harsheen.
The storage of these costumes is one of a kind. When not in use, they est on life-sized mannequins, which are then placed inside vintage closet trunks. These are no ordinary trunks since they are fitted with lights and wheels for easy transport when the armies are moving in caravans before settling at base camp. All this helps transport the actor psychologically into that time and era.
Amar is a professional photographer but had developed a keen interest in leather, watching his grandfather’s leather suitcases, trench coats, and chairs — all that we now call vintage. Amar was always fascinated by leather and by the time he was 16 he started his own business and had one dream of owning an outfit made entirely of leather. But in India it was and still is hard to find pure natural leather. One has to go to Paris, Italy or US. “I would buy leather from a store that imported it from Italy and I would make carpenters come and make furniture for the office. Four years back, we shifted to Delhi from Mumbai.” This was the beginning of their brand TVR where they work from scratch, taking into account the client’s personality and requirements.