Glad to contribute to Mani sir's on screen magic: Eka Lakhani

CHENNAI: Over the last few months, people of south India have been dressing up as Ponniyin Selvan characters and have been largely inspired by costumer Eka Lakhani’s intricate designs for each and every character in the Ponniyin Selvan franchise. “That was my biggest fear. Ponniyin Selvan readers have already made these characters their own,” begins Eka. “They had their own imaginations of Vandhiyathevan, Kundavai and Nandhini in their head and I didn’t want to fail them by overdoing the costume designs. I wanted to keep it real and Mani sir’s films are known for their authenticity. To sum up, I wanted to take the audience’s imagination a notch-higher and also retain Mani sir’s magic on screen with the costumes,” she adds.

Coming from Mumbai, Eka did an intense research to get it right. Right from doing recces with her team to sitting with art director Thotta Tharani, the costumer went all out. “When it came to Ponniyin Selvan, each of these teams were interlinked and it was cohesive. Mumbai being my base, I visited the places where Cholas lived, sat with Thota Tharani sir, who gave me more insight into the artwork from the Chola times. The entire process was organic,” she opens up.

The film was made in the middle of the pandemic and Eka takes us through how the team was able to get what they needed on time. “Sometimes, the materials we required were not available. I had to call my friends in Mumbai to order a few materials, and a few more materials were ordered from Gujarat. Everything needs to be done on time as the schedules have to be on track,” Eka remarks.

When the first part of Ponniyin Selvan was released, there were a few criticisms on Chola costumes. However, when the film was released, they were silenced. “None of us knew what Cholas really wore and how their lives were. Whatever little we knew are from manuscripts and sculptures. We took a little liberty in costumes and that paid off. For instance, in the Kundavai-Nandini scenes, they were in their finest glory. But that is not how they would have been in private. We worked on all that,” she tells us.

Eka, who is a frequent collaborator with Mani Ratnam says, “He is my mentor, my guru. Apart from that, he trusts his technicians and knows them well. When I cracked Kundavai’s costumes, Mani sir pushed me further. He never let’s you feel satisfied with the first attempt and pushes his team to do their best and let you explore. It is great to contribute to the magic he presents to us on screen,” she concludes.