Fashion
Athaiya, who died on Thursday after a prolonged illness, will be remembered as the First Lady of film fashion
Yesterday one of Indian film’s true stars Bhanu Athaiya passed away at age 91. She had been unwell for the past eight years and became bedridden for the last three. That was about that time I started the research for a book I was co-authoring, 100 Iconic Bollywood Costumes to be published by Roli Books, and it was my biggest regret that in my 20-year career, I had only spoken to her once as a features writer at a daily newspaper. I did watch as many of her iconic films as I could and acquire a copy of her book, The Art of Costume Design.
The deeply-private Athaiya is best known for being the first Indian to have won an Oscar for work as a costume designer in Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi in 1983, a film that is still the gold standard when it comes to costume design for a biopic. Long before this much-deserved accolade, Athaiya had defined how the role costumes would be in Indian films. The foreword of her book is penned by the filmmaker-director Sir Richard Attenborough, who writes, “It took me 17 years to set up Gandhi, my dream film and just 15 minutes to make up my mind that Bhanu Athaiya was the right person to make the many hundreds of costumes that would be required to bring it to screen.” She had authentic talent and as often happens, true artists do not receive the appreciation they deserve, not in their lifetime.
Athaiya grew up in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. Her love for the visual arts came from her father, Annasaheb. He was an artist, photographer and a filmmaker. His Marathi film, Mohini (1940), was in production when young Athaiya was just eight years old. Not too long after Annasaheb passed away. Athaiya initially moved to Mumbai to study at the Sir JJ School of Art. Starting as a fashion illustrator at a women’s magazine, she soon became a designer.
In her book, she recalls how actress Kamini Kaushal was a regular client and that it through her that she landed her first film project, Aas (1953). The debut costume designer dressed Kaushal in a tight bodice dress that was considered a bit risqué then, but it worked for the character. Athaiya went on to work on over 100 films. Fashion designer and award winning costume designer Neeta Lulla says, “She was the first true technician in our industry. Before her, actresses often worked with their mothers, friends or sisters to do their clothes. Bhanuji was about the art of filmmaking.”
Whether it is Mumtaz flame orange sari of Brahmachari (1968), or Sadhana’s tight-fitted kurta and salwar from Waqt (1965) that became every college girl’s new outfit of choice, or Helen’s red flamenco-style sequinned gown in Teesri Manzil (1966), she defined the trends of the day. “Look at the glamour she brought to Indian dressing. So many girls now wear that tiered sari known as the “Mumtaz sari”, but how many know that Bhanuji was the woman behind it,” adds Lulla. The reason behind the design of Brahmachari’s flaming orange sari (in many way a predecessor to today’s ‘concept sari’) was because the Mumtaz needed to wear a garment that she could dance in with ease to the tune “Aajkal Tere Mere Pyaar Ke Charche”. Costume to Athaiya was an intrinsic part of cinema.
Street trends such as the kurti, the legging churidar can be credited to her costumes. It was her creative mind behind the Amrapali (1966) sari (a style that has been revisited in multiple films including Himmantwala (1983) the film that made the late legendary Sridevi known for her shapely body and Zeenat Aman’s seductive wet white sari in Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978).
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“She always felt that she never got her due, whether it was being the first Indian and also a woman to win the Oscar, or her contribution to Indian cinema,” says noted film journalist and author Udita Jhunjhunwala. Pointing to the diverse range of directors Athaiya worked with, from Raj Kapoor, Guru Dutta and BR Chopra to Vijay Anand, Yash Chopra and Ashutosh Gowariker, Jhunjhunwala added, “No other costume designer has had her longevity.” Some of the last films the Oscar winning designer worked on are considered modern day cult classics, such as Gowariker’s Laagan (2001) and Shah Rukh Khan starrer Swades (2004). “She worked on a film from start to finish, and in that way is different from many costume designers of today who work on a particular actor, or perhaps just the lead cast members. She understood how to make costumes seamlessly blend into a film’s narrative and knew that clothing can help define a character.”
Simi Garewal, who worked with Athaiya on many projects, including Karz (1980) the film where she portrayed the role of the vamp, Kamini, says “She was a true scholar, her home was like a library of reference books, and I learnt so much from her.” Garewal spoke to her Athaiya’s daughter Radhika Gupta as soon as she heard the news and was informed her that all of the costume designer’s notes and research will be donated to a museum. A woman of high standards and strong ethics, Athaiya decided to return her Oscar to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles for safe-keeping in 2012. The Oscar winner is quoted as having said, “I do not trust anyone in India to keep it. If Rabindranath Tagore’s Nobel medal could be stolen from (Tagore’s hometown) Shanti Niketan, what is the guarantee my trophy would be safe?”
This book traces the evolution of Bollywood costumes with a 100 illustrations
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