Prithiviraj in the film
| Photo Credit: EMIL STANLY JOSEPH
Never earlier than or since Aadujeevitham, has costume designer Stephy Zaviour ever given critical thought to the chemical part or the materials density of the materials she used. “In the past, I have used fabric without thinking about their chemical bond. Resul Pookutty sir wanted to know it lest the rustling of polyester fabric interferes with the sound recording,” she reminisces. Working on Blessy’s opus ranks prime on her checklist of movies she has been part of.
The analysis was tough. There is not any {photograph} of Najeeb throughout his ‘goat days’. “Nobody has ‘seen’ him when he was living in the desert. What we know is what Benyamin chettan has written and Blessy sir’s visualisation. I hope the picture of Najeeb that Blessy sir has (shown through my work) and that of how people have imagined him meet.” She had not learn the novel by Benyamin then however knew sufficient of it from what her mom, an avid reader, had informed her.
Old pictures and movies have been sourced from photograph studios for accuracy. Although movies primarily based in the 1980s-90s are being made, and costumes designed, this film, Stephy says, wanted precision and a spotlight since Blessy is a stickler for element and perfection. It was reassuring as effectively. “There would be no goof-ups because he would check everything.”
Most of the costumes worn by Najeeb (performed by Prithiviraj Sukumaran) whereas in the desert, are handsewn.
Stephy Zaviour
| Photo Credit:
THULASI KAKKAT
“Everything ages differently in a desert. The garments show the movement of the story and the passage of time. The audience will see Najeeb in the same garment over a period of time. But it was not just that one piece, there were multiple thawb or thobe (the long-sleeved, ankle-length garment worn by Arab men) of the one Prithviraj wore. The stains, the tears, the ageing — all of which had to be uniform in every piece. A lot of effort went into the film’s costumes.”
A query about the sneakers is inevitable. “The shoes are also handmade. Blessy sir sent me a drawing of the shoes with specifications: the look, the wear and tear. It also had to convey the difficulty of wearing it in a desert,” Stephy provides.
The chemistry of material
Research additionally meant learning how climate impacted material as a result of Najeeb is at the mercy of the components. “We costume designers have enough tricks to ‘age’ fabrics and garments, that would not do for this film. I got scarecrows made, placing them in the sun for several days to see how a garment fades.” She additionally needed to lookup strategies to make material crumble.
It was not simply the solar, there was water too. For the track filmed underwater that includes Amala Paul and Prithviraj, not solely did the material should be ‘flowy’ underwater, the color couldn’t look very totally different from the dry materials. “We got a transparent bucket, dunked the fabric in water to see how each swatch reacted in water!”
Stephy calls Prithviraj a non-fussy, thorough skilled. “He wore the same costumes for over seven years, the same dull and dirty thobes. without a word of complaint. There were days when it was so hot that I would be covered in clothes, only my eyes showing, and he would be in those tattered clothes seemingly unaffected.”
She was again residence in Kerala in 2020 by the time COVID-19 struck whereas the crew was caught in Jordan unable to return. “I left because I was the only woman on the film’s crew and it was not easy. There were e-toilets and other facilities, but it was tough.” Stephy is grateful to her three assistants — Sanooj, Rafi and Zulfi — who’ve caught together with her since 2017, the 12 months the film’s pre-production began.
“Back then I had not done as many films, I was, perhaps, the junior-most and among the most inexperienced on the sets but Blessy sir never treated me like that. He was wholly supportive.” To this present day she wonders why he picked her, curious as she is, she hasn’t mustered the braveness to ask him both. “I am not sure I want to know the answer!” she says laughing. While Stephy lately turned director with Madhura Manohara Moham, she has designed costumes for movies comparable to Ishq, Joseph, Guppy, and Jana Gana Mana.
Stephy describes Aadujeevitham asa once-in-a-lifetime film. “I don’t think I’ll spend seven years on another film. It is a lot of work — ensuring continuity and taking care of each pin, needle and piece of fabric. Each little thing, we (the costume team) have to take care. It is mind boggling to think of the distance my costume box has travelled: from India to Jordan and Algeria and back.”