Over the years, periodic films have captured the attention of the audiences and some films are specifically remembered for the costume and jewellery that they feature. One of the most anticipated films, which is rich in ethnic fashion and beautiful jewellery, was released recently: Baahubali 2: The Conclusion.
After having worked on a number of pieces for Baahubali 1: The Beginning, Amrapali Jewels was officially brought on board to be the jewellery designer for the second film which approximately made over 1500 pieces for the film. Tarang Arora, Creative director and CEO, Amrapali Jewels says to Guardian 20, “We had already worked in Baahubali 1: The Beginning but it was not on a very huge level because we were also understanding the process and background of the film. But in Baahubali 2, we worked on a huge level. The jewellery was made exclusively for this film. The idea was to design jewellery in three parts — we had to design jewellery for Devasena, Sivagami, and then the men’s jewellery which was all tribal in look. If you see the first film, you could notice that there is lots of tribal design jewellery which actor Prabhas is wearing and in its sequel, he is wearing a lot of royal jewellery because now he has become the king and same goes for Sivagami and Devasena.”
But this is not the first time when a renowned jewellery brand has officially been on board to design jewellery for a film. In the past, many brands took the centre stage and provided some of the iconic jewellery collections for the particular film. In the same line, Shri Hari Diagems, a well-known jewellery brand designed an exclusive collection for the Indian epic historical romance, Bajirao Mastani in 2015. “I wanted to create jewellery that people will remember for 100 years. The designs were very unique and it will be remembered for a decade. Out of the 300 pieces created, 200 were shortlisted for the film. It took a year to research on the jewellery for the film and to finally make it. Otherwise, a piece takes about three to four months,” says Vinay Gupta, Co-owner, Shri Hari Diagems.
Since periodic films are set in a particular background, it is very important for a stylist and jewellery designer to design a collection which suits according to the film’s script. In such films, minute details are taken into notice and each time the director briefs in advance about the jewellery designs he/she wants in the film.
“To produce the number of jewelleries in a particular span of time in a regular flow was a bit challenging. We produced over 1500 pieces exclusively for this film.”
“We were given the idea what characters were like and about their background. So, according to the background, Devasena’s jewellery had to be floral and it had to be more delicate jewellery and for Sivagami, it had to be bold, royal and heavy jewellery. So, for each character we were briefed in advance,” says Tarang Arora on Baahubali 2.
Also explains Vinay Gupta, “The Bajirao Mastani team briefed me about ideas and references for every piece. And yes, the script was given and according to the script I had to design for them. For example, Mastani was half Muslim and half Hindu. So we had to create something on the Hindu-Muslim texture. If you look at her jewellery in the film, it’s very normal, not overwhelming or over-the-top. Mastani’s jewellery was very unique. We had created lots of jhummar ear pieces, haathphool (jewellery worn on the hand), nath (nose ring) and neck pieces. Also, the jewellery had to be comfortable and light.”
Baahubali 2 is not only making its mark in the history of Indian cinema, in terms of popularity of the characters, different lifestyle brands have started coming up with collection inspired by this film. Like Baahubali sarees are already in the market. When it comes to the jewellery section of this film, the collection was all gold plated specially and silver-gold plated jewellery. “We had given it a more antique look and it’s all hand-made. Most important was that they wanted traditional techniques and hand-made jewelleries which is our brand’s forte, so it was easy for us to do,” says Tarang Arora.
But is it challenging to designing a collection for such a periodical drama to which Tarang Arora says, “To produce the number of jewelleries in a particular span of time in a regular flow was a bit challenging. We produced over 1500 pieces exclusively for this film.”
For Baahubali 2, the jewellery designer and stylist both worked together to give their best product. “We were working with the stylists very closely. So, we knew what costume was to be used and we also briefed them what we have designed for the particular character. The first film has only 10%-15% jewellery of what we have used in the second film. Everyone in every scene is loaded with jewellery. There was a different dynamics towards the second film. And I am happy that we could achieve what they had expected from us,” says Tarang Arora.
