Sheetal Sharma’s Santacruz living room doubles as a home, archive and costume lab. Copper curios and family photographs share shelf space with hefty books on Chanel, Givenchy and Prada. His team gathers here to dissect scripts and build characters. At present, the room is occupied by a mythological drama set before the Ramayan.

“I don’t like working in production-house boardrooms. They feel very cubical,” says the 44-year-old, dressed in his own uniform of white linen shirt and olive-green trousers. “Here, there’s open space to think and bounce ideas around.”

There is a new object in the room too: the National Film Award he shares with Deepali Noor for the costumes of Pushpa 2 - The Rule. Sharma initially assumed the email announcing it was a scam. “With so many online scams around, I didn’t even open the link,” he laughs. A call from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting eventually convinced him otherwise. On September 22, he received the honour from President Droupadi Murmu in Gujarat.

Cinema was never the plan. Raised in a military family between Jammu, Amritsar, Pathankot and Mumbai, Sharma first enrolled in hotel management, “because I wanted to be a chef.” Dyslexia made the mathematical side difficult, and he left after 18 months.

An aptitude test guided him towards creative work. Graphic design proved too geometric; fashion finally stuck. At the Wigan and Leigh college of fashion and management in Mahalaxmi, he learnt to sketch, cut, stitch and embroider, before studying period costume for theatre in Britain. Then came the 2009 recession and a return to India without a job.

His real education began on Ashim Ahluwalia’s Miss Lovely, where a tiny budget meant Sharma did almost everything himself. “I ironed garments, distressed fabrics and learnt to navigate Mumbai’s wholesale markets.”

He still does. Crawford Market, Mangaldas Market and Chor Bazaar are as useful to him as any fashion archive. For Pushpa 2, Rs 150 second-hand saris bought off the street were cut up and transformed into printed shirts for Allu Arjun and the supporting cast. Sixteen blue saris were used to a create look for Arjun in one dance sequence alone.

Sharma reads a script closely, and likes to pick apart every detail. He annotates it line by line, inventing histories that may never be spoken on screen: how long a character’s hair might be, whether they would have a tattoo, how much money they possess, what they would realistically buy.

Sometimes the clue comes from life. “Gangubai’s sunglasses in Gangubai Kathiawadi were inspired by women I spotted on Mumbai local trains, pairing saris with goggles. Her white wardrobe drew upon the scant historical description of Gangubai as a woman who wore white and plenty of gold. One sari I sourced was an 80-year-old piece from Jodhpur, woven with real silver thread.”

The clothes had to work with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s sets and light too. Sharma recalls how, on Kesari Chapter 2, a miniature of the courtroom helped the departments decide whether charcoal coats would photograph better than black. In Imtiaz Ali’s Main Wapas Aunga, clothes became a direct narrative device for Ishar Singh Grewal, the elderly protagonist played by Naseeruddin Shah, who has Alzheimer’s disease. A traditional Chand Bali earring changed size between scenes, while one outfit shifted from white to red without changing its tailoring, signalling the character’s growing memory loss. His private costume archive in Govandi now holds pieces from several films, kept with the producers’ permission: Shah Rukh Khan’s black kurta-pyjama from Raees, jewellery made for Vicky Kaushal in Chhaava and other remnants of characters whose lives ended when the cameras stopped.

For Stree, a vintage shawl found in Chor Bazaar became Shraddha Kapoor’s maroon embroidered jacket. When costumes from the first film could not be traced, Sharma says, “My team recreated them for Stree 2, re-dyeing and reprinting fabrics and even recreating materials that were no longer available.”

That obsessive eye does not make Sharma particularly interested in fashion trends. He cheerfully admits that contemporary terminology can escape him and prefers the permanence of a trench coat or Patiala salwar to whatever happens to be fashionable that season.

It may explain why his work rarely feels like celebrity styling. On Animal, where he joined after four previous costume designers, Ranbir Kapoor ended up in the linen shirts Sharma himself favours. “On set I was told, ‘You made him like you,’” he recalls. Nor does he believe cinema must always dress people exactly as they dress in life.

“Films also need to sell aspirations,” he says. “We are city people, so we might say, ‘Who does stuff like that?’ But in small towns, people really adore those things. They aspire to go to college looking like that. In the end, films are selling dreams.”

His own taste remains considerably less grand. If he ever starts a clothing label, Sharma says, it will be “easy and breezy”, built around simplicity rather than trends. Which seems fitting.

After years of making clothes speak for everyone else, Sharma is happiest when his own clothes speak the least.

There’s not a moment to rest for Varun Dhawan, who is in the war zone. Well, only cinematically. While we are aware that Sunny Deol is reprising his role of Major Kuldeep Singh Chandpuri from Border (1997), Diljit Dosanjh plays Air Force Officer Nirmal Singh Sekhon, and Ahan Shetty portrays a Naval Commander in the Anurag Singh-directed film Border 2, Dhawan’s character had remained under wraps until now. An insider informs us that he will play Major Hoshiar Singh Dahiya, who received the Param Vir Chakra for his bravery and was promoted to Colonel after the 1971 Indo-Pak war in 1976.

Before the shoot kicked off in the second week of January in Jhansi, Madhya Pradesh, Dhawan had physically prepared for the shoot over two months. “Apart from holding look sessions with designer Sheetal Sharma, Varun met Indian officers, celebrated Army Day with them and [in conversations] tried to gain a deeper understanding of their lives,” said a source, adding that the cast and crew prepped for a year before going on floors.

“Varun’s scenes will begin with his departure from Sisana village in Haryana, joining the army, to his journey in the Indo-Pak war.”

His physical prep involved three hours of cardio and weightlifting every day, followed by training in handling arms and ammunition. “Varun’s first scene includes a massive action sequence, with heavy artillery and guns, designed by Hollywood filmmaker Nick Powell. Major Hoshiar Singh led from the front at Jarpal post in the Shakargarh sector and refused evacuation till the ceasefire, though he was heavily wounded.” The Major was ordered to capture the Pakistani locality of Jarpal by establishing a bridgehead in the Shakargarh sector.

The source added, “To encourage and motivate his men to stay strong and fight, he went from trench to trench, and even manned the machine gun on his own. His company fought back all the attacks, imposing heavy mortality on the Pakistani army.”

An ex-Army Major was roped in to give approvals on everything — from references and research to the badges and uniforms.

If things had worked out according to producer-writer Nidhi Dutta’s original plans, actors Sunny Deol, Varun Dhawan, Diljit Dosanjh and Ahan Shetty would have faced the camera for Border 2 in November-end (Jawans summoned for the battle, September 30). But there seems to have been a change in plans. Now, mid-day has learnt that the sequel to J P Dutta’s hit Border (1997) will go on floors on January 6 in Dehradun. With less than a month to go, director Anurag Singh began look tests for the primary cast this week.

Sources tell us that a former Major in the Army, has not only guided Singh and Nidhi through the research but is also overseeing the styling of the film that focuses on a chapter of the 1971 India-Pakistan war.

A source in the know reveals, “While designer Sheetal Sharma is doing the costumes, the ex-Army Major is giving approvals on everything related to it—from the references and research, to the badges and uniforms, ensuring that they are accurate in terms of the period and designation. His contribution is not restricted to the costumes alone. Nidhi is seeking his guidance on the artillery that was used in the war, as well as the military strategies that were adopted. She wants the movie to look as authentic as her filmmaker-father’s Border. Varun and Ahan did their look tests this week, while Diljit’s is slotted after December 15. Sunny, who plays a Sardar again, will have his look test in the last week of December. The Major will be present for all the rounds.”

Following the intensive prep that will run throughout December, as Singh will call action on the war drama in January, Dhawan will be the first to slip into the jawan’s uniform.

The source elaborates, “Initially, the plan was to start with a massive action sequence involving Sunny, Diljit and Varun on November 25 in Jammu and Kashmir. But now, the schedule will begin in Dehradun with Varun, with sequences reflecting his journey from a small-town boy to someone who joins the Armed Forces. The war drama—which sees the four leads play officers from the Army, Navy and the Air Force—will be shot across real locations in north India.”

Fiery, ruthless, ambitious— Allu Arjun’s character Pushpa Raj is anything but understated. His outfits in Pushpa: The Rise (2021) depicted that. Now, as the team is shooting the last leg of Pushpa 2: The Rule in Hyderabad, costume designer Sheetal Sharma says that he has created a distinct look for Arjun. Director Sukumar’s brief for the leading man’s avatar was simple: since the character has gone from a local sandalwood smuggler to an international force, his appearance should reflect the transition.

“I didn’t design costumes for Pushpa: The Rise. In the sequel, while his look remains rustic, Pushpa has become richer and more powerful as his smuggling has gone beyond India to Indonesia and Japan. So, his look now is more flamboyant, colourful and over-the-top. His wardrobe has become more expensive, but in a showy manner,” explains the designer.

While the sequel went on floors in October 2022, the costume department began its work in August that year. Right at the beginning, Sukumar made it known that the costumes had to reflect tidbits of the character’s journey in the first instalment.

“In Pushpa, we showed him patting his back with bloodied hands. From that, we got the idea to make a shirt [with a bloodstained handprint] for Pushpa 2. His shades have the axe motif, while his belt has a buckle with a rotating axe. His boots are made of fake snakeskin, as Allu Arjun is conscious about not using leather or animal-based products. His shirts have prints of wild animals and jungles to reflect that the protagonist comes from the forest.”

From the film’s first poster that was released in 2023, it was obvious that the makers didn’t believe in half-measures. It had Arjun sporting a look that borrowed heavily from avatars of Lord Shiva and Goddess Kali.

Sharma decodes it, stating, “From the colours [used] to his accessories, it was a look inspired by Kali-meets-Shiva. There is a Goddess called Gangamma, who is believed to have emerged from Shiva’s tandav. We drew inspiration from that.”

Also starring Fahadh Faasil and Rashmika Mandanna, the sequel is slated to release in December 2024. But before that, don’t be surprised if the makers roll out a special merchandise line. “Sukumar was clear that everything should be custom-made. The makers are planning to come up with a Pushpa clothing line, but it’s still in the discussion stage.”

'Sita Ramam' (2022) brought much success to Mrunal Thakur. She hopes to be equally lucky with her second Telugu film, the working title of which is 'Nani 30'. Fronted by Telugu star Nani, the family drama went on floors in January in Hyderabad, followed by schedules in Mumbai and Goa. mid-day has now scooped exclusive pictures from its Goa shoot. In her first look from the movie, the leading lady is seen in a purple saree and ethnic jewellery, strolling on the beach.

A bit of digging revealed that the shoot was conducted earlier this month, near the Betalbatim Beach in south Goa.

A source tells us, “The makers wanted a picturesque beach against which they could shoot Mrunal’s introductory scene. To ensure a smooth filming experience, the local authorities cordoned off the beach. A team of 30 shot these portions in the first week of June. Costume designer Sheetal Sharma styled her for the film.”

After the Goa leg, the unit—led by debutant director Shouryuv—headed to Coonoor. “The team wrapped up the principal shoot in Coonoor last week. Now, only patchwork shoot is remaining.”

Kapoor as Babur; (right) Morea as Muhammad Shaybani Khan

Retelling the events leading up to the First Battle of Panipat, led by Mughal emperor Babur, on screen is a tall order. The challenge is heightened when you have to recreate the 16th century battle amid the biggest setback of the 21st century — Coronavirus. So, how did creator-producer Nikkhil Advani and director Mitakshara Kumar create The Empire — featuring Kunal Kapoor, Shabana Azmi and Dino Morea, among others — in the face of such obstacles? “Detailed research, patience and with the help of an army of people,” says Kumar, who walks us through the making of the Disney+ Hotstar offering.

It helped that Kumar trained Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s projects, Bajirao Mastani (2015) and Padmaavat (2018), two of the country’s most ambitious period dramas. The director admits her eye for precision was often a joke on set. “Nikkhil would tell me no one is checking if the flags in the battle sequences are aligned or not. But when one is making a show of this nature, we might as well perfect it.”

The beginning — adapting the first book from Alex Rutherford’s Empire of the Moghul series into a screenplay — was not daunting for writers Kumar and Bhavani Iyer, courtesy the book’s thorough research and gripping story. But bringing alive the screenplay was a different ball game altogether. Much like mentor Bhansali, who had once famously said that he scores for his songs while in the shower, Kumar says music played a key part in visualising the world. “Music helps me transport myself to that era. I visualise everything.”

After developing the screenplay through 2017-18, came the detailed storyboarding by Advani and her. The duo roped in cinematographer Nigam Bomzan to support their vision on ground. “We have not had a historical series in Indian digital entertainment, but we’ve had shows like Tipu Sultan or even Bharat Ek Khoj, which were brilliant. Sadly, we stopped making them. There is no visual reference for a DoP [director of photography] for stories belonging to that era, besides all the [international] shows and films.”

Even as his lens captured the visual grandeur of the era, Bomzan says his focus was on the story. “In this case, it was more of the conflict of an individual’s mind and his internal battles. We never let the backdrop of royalty overpower the story of Babur.”

He remembers being a ball of nerves before shooting the first battle sequence at Film City in January 2020. “It is difficult to shoot large-scale battles, and the realisation dawned on me as I drove to the set at 5 am. All I could see was several tents in a row, with a sea of people getting into their costumes. When the time came to film the battle, there were an additional number of horses, elephants and cannons. It was nerve-wracking, but then there was Nikkhil [director for the war scenes] who was calm and brought in his years of experience. He had all the shots broken down beforehand. He was patient as that’s the only way one can shoot with animals in the midst of live explosions that we were doing.”

The responsibility of dressing Kapoor’s Babur and Morea’s Shaybani Khan in the finest while staying true to the nomadic vibe of the clan was given to costume designer Sheetal Sharma. She fell back on the paintings and books to study their sartorial evolution. “We have used a lot of central Asian embroidery. Textile-wise, we have used raw jute and handloom fabrics, taking inspiration from the rugs of Persia.” 

For the artillery, Sharma added a touch of mushroom leather and faux fur to make the armour look more powerful. While the women — Aisan Daulat Begum and Khanzada Begum portrayed by Azmi and Drashti Dhami respectively — were draped in earthy tones, with a slight splash of blues and reds, it was their jewellery that was paid attention to. “We’ve used a lot of rustic antique jewellery and beautiful stones like turquoise and blue sapphire.”

It was sheer luck that the makers had scheduled the primary war sequences in the first schedule. Only 21 days into the shoot, the team found themselves facing an entirely unexpected enemy — the pandemic. The shoot was halted for five months as the country went into lockdown, and shoots were suspended till August. As the team returned to the set in September, Kumar remembers wondering how she would pull off a period drama in the face of the COVID-induced restrictions. “It was a nightmare post COVID. You couldn’t shoot with more than 50 people, so scenes had to be reconstructed to accommodate the crowd. The looks of the characters had to be reworked as the number of people on screen reduced, but the scene had to stand out. We worked around the logistical limitations, including shooting intimate sequences first. We shot a lot less, which is why 90 days stretched to 120 days,” recounts Kumar.

The biggest blow of the pandemic was having to drop the 35-day schedule in Uzbekistan that was slated for 2020. “Real locations lend authenticity. No one will notice, but I would have preferred a bustling set with 300 junior artistes. That said, as a director, I feel my finesse will show if the show is grand despite all these limitations.”

With the Uzbekistan schedule out the window, art director Priya S found herself shouldering a daunting task — to recreate the central Asian country in Mumbai. “Wai became Babur’s Samarkand. Film City [housed] Shaybani Khan’s tent. In Madh Island, we [built] Fergana Darbar. Budget was the biggest challenge,” she recalls.

Primarily an architect, Priya says she studied the architecture of Uzbekistan to rise to the job. “We tried to do justice to the beautiful Uzbekistan architecture by way of colourful mosaics, religious symbols, and abstract geometrical patterns. [These are found] on almost every palace, mosque, and minaret, and characterise the turquoise-hued country,” she explains.

How did they stay within budget, given the change in plans prompted by the pandemic? Producer Madhu Bhojwani, who handles the finances of Advani’s productions, quips, “What makes you think we didn’t go over-budget?”

She says it wasn’t creating the show that cost them as much as the inactivity of 2020 did. “We had to work hard to hold together. Daily-wage workers had to be paid, and we were responsible for those on our payroll. There have been some crucial takeaways that we will employ in the future seasons.”

A crew of 80-plus, four schedules and 120 days of shooting later, Advani and Kumar are ready to offer their retelling of Babur’s journey to the audience. The genesis of the show was four years ago with the erstwhile Fox team, during the making of POW: Bandi Yuddh Ke that was produced by Advani as well. Producers Monisha Advani and Bhojwani are fairly confident that they have a great series at hand. Though it’s probably the first big-budget historical series in Indian digital space, Bhojwani believes the story itself is familiar. “If anything, we are the last to tell it,” she notes.

In fact, Karan Johar was to make the period drama, Takht that focused on the Mughal empire. Monisha remembers a dinner party where Johar and Bhojwani were exchanging notes on the period. “He had just come back from his Italy recce, and Madhu was in the thick of things with this series. There they were amid all that laughter, showing each other their visual palettes, and locations of Florence and Uzbekistan,” she laughs.

The challenges have been myriad — from the inception to the latest comparisons with Game Of Thrones. Needless to say, nothing was as excruciating as the pandemic constraints. “But we’d do it all over again, and hopefully for many seasons,” signs off Monisha.

Telling a Mughal story comes with the risk of hurting sentiments in the current climate. Monisha explains, “There is a level of sensitivity in us as storytellers to make sure we are respectful of everyone’s culture. We focused on telling the story of a family and the drama of these personalities.”

The Samarkand palace recreated in Wai

RAEES: Sheetal Sharma
We wanted to make Shah Rukh Khan's character look like a regular guy, yet someone manipulative so we incorporated a lot of pastel shades in his look and the surma-lined eyes. The denim-n-denim look in the film is a throwback to Kamal Haasan and Rishi Kapoor, who had popularised it in that era. Since the film is set in 80s Gujarat, we referenced some old family albums of people from the state to get the clothes right as well. We did around seven-eight trials with Shah Rukh.


SARBJIT: Shaahid Amir and Neetu Singh
The story had a rural Punjab feel and starts in the early '90s. We chose sunset as our primary colour palette keeping the narrative in mind. The look is mostly monochromatic, going from shades of orange to more earthy tones. We have used hand-woven, naturally-dyed fabric, and a lot of coarse, natural weaves that absorb light to give them a worn-out look, enhancing the look and the feel.


AZHAR: Manoshi Nath and Rushi Sharma
Azharuddin shared his family albums and sent samples of his uniforms. He looked at the suits we'd made for Emraan, pointed out that he'd never wear a light tie with a dark shirt. There was colour-blocking with hues like tangerine-brinjal or canary-electric blue. We featured '90s trends like geometric prints, tight trousers, trainers and polyester fabric.


CABARET: Pooja Bhatt
Richa Chadha's character transitions from a Dubai bar dancer to Bollywood's IT girl. We have tried not to go overboard with her look. Besides the usual reds and blacks that represent glam our, a lot of beige and white has been used too.

RUSTOM: Shital Bhatia
We're introducing the col our patterns, checquered style, tie formats from the late '50s. Unfiortunately we dont have bell-bottoms since they were only introduced in the mid-60s. Apart from the standard uniform, the format for the navy outfits included caps, cardigans, flared pants and charcoal ties. You will also see the leading ladies, Ileana D'Cruz and Esha Gupta, in elaborate ballgowns while Akshay Kumar is seen in a lot of prosthetics as he ages through the film.