National Award-winning costume designer of Udta Punjab, Payal Saluja, decodes the looks of its actors
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 10, 2016)

Abhishek Chaubey's dark drugs drama, Udta Punjab, revolves around four characters. There's 'rockstar' Tommy Singh aka Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt who plays a Bihari migrant labourer and an aspiring hockey player, Kareena Kapoor's Dr Preet and Diljit Dosanjh as tough cop Sartaj. And, as costume designer Payal Saluja who's just picked up the National Award for Nanak Shah Fakir points out, a lot of effort went into making each one come to life.

With Shahid the idea was to go all-out wacky so Payal decided on green highlights in his hair. Shahid's immediate reaction to that was "Are you sure that you want green?" She reiterated she did, it was an unusual hair colour, and he surrendered to her superior wisdom.

Tommy also known as Gabru to fans, has multiple tattoos on his body and Payal went through almost 800 designs. Her favourite is the 'Mamma da Boy' that he proudly wears on his left collar bone which shows the world how close he is to his mamma. He also has his phone number tattooed on his chest, a pair of eyes on the tip of the collarbone, a pistol and heart on his right hip and wings on his back. He even has tattoos stating Gabru on his knuckles. "We have also given him hair tattoos. Aalim Hakim used his assistants as scapegoats by experimenting on them first," she laughs.

The actor dropped a lot of weight for the role so she picked clothes that accentuated his leanness, like long Tees, drop-crotch pants with side zipper detailing that Payal believes is the next big trend. "Everything that he's worn has been handpicked from around the world. I spent two months shopping for his look and had a blast. He loves the silver-winged shoes. Another interesting accessory is a thin necklace with a feather which he has worn through the film. We had also given him a nose-ring but later felt we shouldn't OD on the bling," admits Payal, adding that the best quality about Shahid is that like his father, Pankaj Kapur, he doesn't come to the sets with pre- conceived notions.

The challenge got bigger with Alia because usually an actress's clothes are form-fitting but in this case her skirt and blouse or the salwar-kameez had to look ill-fitting. "Also since she is a menial labourer who works in the sun all day, instead of simply giving her a tan we gave her sun spots and freckles and bleached her hair to make it look lifeless," says the costume designer.

She recalls how every morning Alia would come to the location looking as fresh as a daisy and they would streak her with dirt. Her makeup would take an hour-and-ahalf as they had to work, layer by layer, on her skin. "For continuity she had to keep the look and would tell me that she dreaded going to the airport because people would think that she didn't know the basics of grooming," chuckles Payal, adding that through the film Alia has worn torn black shoes and chipped nail polish.

The other glam star, Kareena Kapoor, also got herself the every other Punjabi girl puff or pompadour which she teamed up with soft pastel salwarkurtas as she plays an Amristar-based doctor. "Sometimes she teamed the same salwar and dupatta with different kurta. Being a Sikh she wears the kada and a koti, a jacket with two pockets which girls in Punjab wear as winter approaches," she informs.

The actress has gone for a no make-up look, except for kajal and lip balm. And Kareena who is often seen in Choos and Louboutins, opted to get real on reel with ballet flats (pronounced 'bellys' in Punjab) and white sports shoes, teamed with salwars. Diljit, a popular Punjabi singer whose fans count the pleats in his pagri, plays a subinspector and a regular middle class Sikh guy. "There was no way he could get be stylish with pleated trousers and checked shirts when not in uniform. We also made him wear white sports shoes which are in vogue in Punjab and he hated them," she signs off with a laugh.