Costume Artisans of the Indian Film Industry: The embodiment of jugaad, productivity, and rituality

Abstract

This essay reflects on the process of and strategies employed in film costume design in India. Using a series of photographs taken during ethnographic field research, the essay reveals the varied work of film costume personnel and crafts artisans who help realize the ambitious storytelling style of Indian film.

Citation: Vasek, Cheri and Deepsikha Chatterjee. “Costume Artisans of the Indian Film Industry: The Embodiment of Jugaad, Productivity, and Rituality.” The Jugaad Project, 4 Jun. 2020, thejugaadproject.pub/costume-artisans-of-the-indian-film-industry-the-embodiment-of-jugaad-productivity-and-rituality [date of access]

The Indian film industry is well known for its fast-paced productivity. This photo essay aims to reveal some of the industrious techniques employed by creative professionals to ensure success and fulfillment in their work.

With one of the most prolific film industries in the world, India produces many hundreds of films annually, through its many language-specific regional film production centers.  Indian film narratives feature many themes, at times exploring secularism or unity-in-diversity and at other times investigating issues around religion, sectarianism, or discrimination.[i]

We, the authors, are costume designers trained in the US who met while working at the Santa Fe Opera. Given that we shared a love for Indian films, and were personally invested in the process of costume design and material acquisitions as practitioners and teachers, we applied for a United States Institute of Theatre Technology grant to conduct research on film design professionals in India. The grant allowed us to observe the overall design process of filmmaking, how collective choices and individual choices are made in productions, and how all the elements coalesce. We conducted interviews with nearly 6 dozen film professionals in all aspects of the costume process:  from producers and directors who conceive and guide film projects, to designers and costumers tasked with delivering the costume look of a film, to the specialized individual crafts artisans who execute the designer’s intent. Our interviewees ranged across a spectrum:  those controlling broader aesthetic and budgetary concerns of a film, to those utilizing specialized skills to create the material objects that embody the film’s visual aesthetics.  Our research revealed that there are many contributing voices, and an array of talented artists come together to craft the realized product.

Interestingly, our ethnographic research revealed the mixing of the secular and profane professional processes with the sacred presence of consecrating religious icons in most film production sites. Most of these icons are from the Hindu pantheon, given the religious affiliation of the majority of producers. Muslim, Parsi or Christian heritage artists, makers, and themes are also present in the industry, although their iconography is less overtly visible. In our field research, we found many recognizable visual expressions of Hindu faith, ranging from the realistic to the symbolic, and across several regions.  We found that other faiths were not represented visually in the workspaces we visited. This is not surprising given that seeing, as a means of connecting with the divine, is deeply embedded in Hindu belief, whereas Abrahamic faiths, for example, tend to emphasize aural and verbal means of connecting with the divine. 

The presence of these actively used icons may suggest a way to receive divine benediction in a fast paced industry where practitioners hope everything will go smoothly, all their efforts will lead to successes, and all their investments will lead to profits. Or perhaps it is a way of expressing belief, much like in other work sites in India, where the sacred and profane co-exist.

Costume requirements are complex and often demand considerable numbers of costumes be produced on short notice.  In her informative book Fashioning Bollywood, Clare Wilkinson-Weber writes about the immense amount of work that goes into film costuming.[ii]  Costume professionals in the Indian film industry universally agree on the importance of reliability, inventiveness and creative ingenuity, all deliverable while practitioners are under intense time pressure from producers. Producers themselves navigate expectations of stars, directors, cinematographers, junior artists, chorus members, and music and dance teams all working towards the film’s collective creative outcome.

Given such a multiplicity of voices, objectives and ambitions, the need for “jugaad” — or everyday hacking — and some amount of magical intervention is surely desirable in the Indian film industry. Historically Indian filmmaking has maintained a vibrant productivity despite limited resources, necessitating the inventive adaptability of its practitioners. Networks of specialist artisans are a key part of this success. Film designers and costumers carefully build teams of skilled artisans in order to successfully produce within this demanding environment.  These costume professionals include cutters, tailors, embroiderers, turban makers, armorers and shoemakers. Their technical and artistic contributions significantly enhance the visual impact of Indian films. On-set professionals such as makeup artists, hair stylists and dressmen (wardrobe personnel) contribute to the visual outcome, as well as the smooth and efficient functioning of the film set during shooting. Film practitioners must provide highly specialized skills, often delivered within a tight time frame, all whilst juggling multiple overlapping schedules. Making efficient use of time and resources is integral to their creative process. This paper will investigate this efficiency of the artists, guided by years of experience, working with highly dependable teams, and manifesting an embodied belief in the ability to achieve seemingly unachievable goals.

Within this context of a challenging production environment, evidence of the sacred and of active religious practice abounds.  This may be revealed through the nature of filmic stories being told, since a portion of Indian films draw from the rich heritage of religious literature of the Indian subcontinent, such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata.  Additionally, religious practice is integrated into the inaugural rituals of every film production.  During our research in India, we found shrines and altars in active use at many of the film production companies and individual artist’s studios.

This co-mingling of active religious practice with creative invention is not a complete surprise. In her research on materiality from political theory, Jane Bennett describes the idea of “assemblage” where “thing power”, or the vibrancy of material objects, and human agency come together to create results larger than what is originally expected.[iii] One can see this play out clearly in our case study. The theory of assemblage provides a useful framework to understand and situate the immense influence materials of film production have on filmmakers and consumers. Similarly, it provides a lens through which we may better understand the presence of material religious icons within film production spaces, and the special sanctifying powers of these objects within a matrix of deeply held beliefs and oversized creative ambitions.

This shrine is outside the studio of preeminent Oscar-winning costume designer Bhanu Athaiya, in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Recently the shrine has been adorned with fresh flowers and fresh coconut. Athaiya’s long and successful career in design is an example of the combination of creativity, ambition, and collaborations that young designers aspire to. Photo credit: Cheri Vasek.

Film production support vehicles at a location shoot in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. An image of Lord Ganesha, the Remover of Obstacles, can be seen on the vehicle on the left. Work vehicles in India often have religious imagery painted on them, as a way of blessing the enterprise that the vehicle will be engaged in, and for seeking protection. The use of religious icons provides a divine scaffolding to support giant ambitions and successful endeavors. Photo credit: Cheri Vasek.

SHOE AND ARMOR MAKER DJS KUMAR AND SON

DJS Kumar, a highly skilled craftsman with many film credits to his name, examines leather hides in preparation for creating a breastplate. Photo credit: Cheri Vasek.

DJS Kumar had a very successful career of 4 decades in the Tamil film industry in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.  His business, Welcome Shoe Mart, began in 1955 with Kumar’s father, DK Jayaraman.  Originally a street cobbler, Jayaraman began making shoes for Tamil film stars.  For his first film he created leather armor.  Eventually this film work broadened in scope, in response to ever more challenging requests by film producers and directors.   

Later, DJS Kumar joined his father in the business. Their enterprise grew to include shoe making, boot making, and leather armor for cinema. Kumar has handcrafted specialized items for some of India’s greatest stars and celebrities, including J. Jayalalithaa, Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth.  Skills originally honed in shoemaking were adapted to create remarkable leather armor, gauntlets, boots and shoes for historical and mythological films.

DJS Kumar created this leather breastplate and belt, with detailed dimensional ornamentation and metallic surface treatment. Artisans such as DJS Kumar apply their prodigious technical finesse and aesthetic judgment in the creation of pieces such as this one. Photo Credit: Satish Kumar.

DJS Kumar has worked on well over 200 films during his professional career, fashioning exquisite contemporary, historical and imaginative pieces.  DJS Kumar passed away in December 2018.  His son Satish, educated in computer sciences, has now taken over the business, making it an enterprise of 3 generations within the same family. This long-standing business is a testament to the dependability of expert crafts artists, whose skills costume designers and producers rely on to render their visually challenging productions.

DJS Kumar reflects:  “It’s a non-stop job; full time; night and day – being a personal cobbler and movie cobbler.  Once I have an advance for the order, I don’t sleep – I am always thinking about the job.  The important thing is that the customer is satisfied.”  When an urgent order was pending, DJS Kumar would bring his work home and work through the night until the project was completed.  His wife Jamuna would sit up with him while he worked, and while their three children were sleeping.  

DJS Kumar’s work is a great example of the way in which, under the hands of accomplished craftsmen, simple materials and tools - along with guiding ideas from artisans and designers - come together to create extraordinary, highly detailed and adorned costume pieces. Even as crafts skills and persistence are coveted, the achievability of film goals also depends on much jugaad by many other professionals who weave this work seamlessly into scenic, production, and choreographic designs.

Sample design drawing for a leather breastplate, from the Kumar archives. Archival sketches such as this one may become research source material for future creations. Photo credit: Satish Kumar.

MAKEUP MAN R MURUGAN

R Murugan swiftly applied makeup to an actor during a location shoot in a small rural village, Tamil Nadu, India. Photo Credit: Cheri Vasek.

R Murugan has been a makeup man in the Tamil film industry for 40 years.  He began as a makeup assistant with AVM productions.  He joined as an apprentice earning 100 rupees per month.  Gradually, he learned more skills, working his way up from an apprentice until he became a chief makeup man.  About 18 years ago he began working for the prestigious production company Shivaji Productions, which is owned by the beloved South Indian superstar Rajinikanth.

During a typical shoot schedule, the makeup man and his team would arrive at 6:30 am to prepare.  At 7:00 am, the hero and heroine arrive. Murugan does the makeup for the hero and heroine first, and then all the other junior artists.  Everyone is ready by 9 am.  The shoot happens between 9 am and 6 pm. When on set, R Murugan works swiftly, ensuring that actors wait in line only briefly. They are made up almost in an assembly line, while other production professionals such as camera artists are setting up. Overlapping tasks occur simultaneously, ensuring the greatest efficiency on set.  Makeup is applied first, followed by hairstyling. 

CINEMA HAIR STYLIST G VANAJA

G Vanaja has been a hair stylist for nearly 40 years.  She has gone on film shoots to several different states within India, as well as international shoots in Malaysia and Canada.  Vanaja began her film career as a personal assistant to an actress.  She observed the hair stylist on that first project, and then began hairstyling herself.

Vanaja often has to take actresses with contemporary haircuts and add various natural hairpieces and extensions, in order to achieve more traditional hairstyle looks that may be required by the film story.  To facilitate this, Vanaja maintains a styling kit that includes a variety of hairpieces and extensions.  These are hand washed and brushed after each use, in order to prepare for the next shoot. 

Vanaja’s hands were so skillful and quick that it was almost impossible to photograph her working – her hands moved so quickly that it was all a blur of efficient movement.

R Murugan, and G Vanaja often work together on films.  Their styling, quick problem solving and on-set efficiency help accelerate film shooting processes that producers expect.

G Vanaja sectioning the hair, prior to applying hair extensions. Photo credit: Cheri Vasek.

LOCATION SHOOTING

These photos of the makeup man and hairstylist at work, were taken on location during a one-day film shoot at a small village north of Chennai, in 2011.  An impromptu hair and makeup workspace was set up in two adjoining rooms in the village headman’s house, with the makeup man in one room and the hairdresser in the other.  Within half an hour of arriving at the village, both the hair and makeup artists had established their workspaces, and were busy preparing the cast for the first shot.

The day’s shoot on location was meant to depict a village religious festival, which the lead hero and heroine of the film were attending.  In preparation for the shoot, the entire village was participating. Villagers were involved in creating festival decorations and would be included as the film’s extras for a culminating scene later in the day. When we arrived at 8 am, everyone was already dressed in their finest festival clothing, and carrying oil lamps on trays.  Although this community effort had been requested for the evening shoot, yet all the village women were ready by 8 am with the necessary preparations. 

Temporal and spatial jugaad was used in planning preparations for the day’s shooting schedule. Many activities were occurring simultaneously in the village, and all members of the community were involved in ensuring that everything worked smoothly. The producers counted on the villagers’ unanimous and willing acquiescence and participation in this process.

Requesting that each family take care of decorations for their own home allowed the film production design team to focus their attentions on creating festival decorations for the village temple. The jugaad among the villagers in use of ritual and religious iconography for a profane film shoot, parallel the jugaad seen among the film professionals who come to the site in the morning, make preparations for the day’s work, and accomplish their to-do list before ending the day. In both cases, shared effort overcame finite time constraints.  Additionally, relying on villagers to create the required festival decorations ensured the visual authenticity that the producers and director sought.

A tray with hand made rice dough vessel, coconut oil and wick, adorned with fresh leaves. Photo credit: Cheri Vasek.

Each woman was preparing her doorway with a rice flour motif, or Kolam, which would be part of the film’s festival decoration in the village. Photo credit: Cheri Vasek.

Preparations are underway to decorate the village temple for an evening scene that will be shot later in the day. While daylight scenes are being shot elsewhere in the village, the team creates decorations with vegetation sourced from the local environment. This method of working creatively in multiple areas of the village simultaneously, is another example of jugaad on the part of film makers and villagers who are joined together in achieving a shared goal. Photo credit: Cheri Vasek.

After several hours of preparation, the temple is ready for the evening shoot. Photo credit: Cheri Vasek.

Much like the process of jugaad we observed during the film shoot, professionals associated with the Indian film industry are constantly employing everyday ingenuity through their creativity, sourcing, project management, and overall flexibility in catering to the needs of a demanding industry.

EMBROIDERY STUDIO:  SHRISHTY EMBROIDERERS

Proprietor and embroidery designer Kalavathy Balraju inspects the detailed embroidery and beadwork of her company’s highly skilled senior embroidery artisan. Photo credit: Cheri Vasek.

One such artist/entrepreneur is Kalavathy Balraju, who began her business in custom embroidery in 2006. She does work for the film industry and private clients. Her father was an art director, and she was surrounded by creative people and film projects from her early years.  Balraju provides custom designs based on traditional and contemporary motifs, rendered in a variety of embroidery, sequin, beading and zardozi (raised metal threadwork) techniques.

Balraju develops her design motifs using pencil and paper, along with computer graphics.  She says:  “All day I am sketching – whenever I have a moment.” Balraju says that she is increasingly interested in traditional motifs and techniques.  She is inspired by research wherever she finds it:  in museums, historic buildings and contemporary artwork. Balaraju is simultaneously happy to apply her creative skills, drawing from tradition, into non-traditional projects in the medium of film.

Embroidered and jeweled panels for a silk chiffon choli blouse, created by Shrishty Embroiderers, Chennai. Embroidery on sheer fabrics is particularly challenging and requires the expertise of highly skilled artisans. Photo credit: Cheri Vasek.

The Shrishty Embroidery supply area features a plentiful and well-organized stock of beads and embroidery threads. On the left wall is a shelf with images and representations of Hindu deities, including Ganesha. Photo credit: Cheri Vasek.

FILM COSTUMER MANOJ KUMAR

Manoj Kumar is a costumer based in Hyderabad, Telangana, India.  He has worked for over 30 years in the film industry.  He began as a tailor, and subsequently studied cutting and stitching at a polytechnic school in Chennai.  He has been based in Hyderabad and has worked in the Telegu film industry for the past 20 years.

Kumar works on both contemporary and historical films. His work combines design, coordination, supervision of construction, and management of the on-set dressmen.  He outsources coat making, embroidery, dye work, turban making and armor making to traditional craft artisans in Hyderabad and Chennai. He rents police and military uniforms from specialized suppliers when they are called for.

Preparation lead-time can be 15 days for a small movie or one month for a big movie.  To manage this schedule, Kumar has one full-time assistant and 4 additional employees on shoot days.  Kumar and his team complete as much construction as possible prior to shooting, with sizing based on standard S-M-L sizes.  Alterations to fit specific performers are made at the film shooting site.

Custom embroidery for the upper sleeve of a costume. Manoj Kumar Studios, Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Photo credit: Cheri Vasek.

Paper pattern showing the intended placement of embroidery motifs for the front of the same costume. Manoj Kumar quickly roughs out the general distribution and shape of motifs on one half of the pattern, expecting the embroiderer to mirror that design distribution on the rest of the garment. The final decisions about scale and density of the motifs are left up to the master embroiderer. Costumer Kumar quickly indicates his design intentions for embroidery embellishment using rough drawing techniques, while relying on the skill and expertise of a trusted craft specialist to realize his vision. Thus the assemblage of the designer, the crafter, the brief from the director and producers all come together to create the final picture. Manoj Kumar Studios, Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Photo credit: Cheri Vasek.

FILM AND TELEVISION COSTUMER LOKESH

Cutter D. Sachinaran (left) and costume designer Lokesh (right) discuss the preparations for an upcoming shoot for the film Rajanna at Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Photo credit: Cheri Vasek.

Lokesh is a costumer in Hyderabad, Telangana, India.  He began his film career in Madras (now Chennai) in 1972.  At the time of our interview he was working on a film for Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad, along with several other costume projects.  Lokesh customarily balances work on multiple projects.  When we spoke, he was simultaneously working on 3 films and doing at least one TV series.

We met Lokesh in his workshop at the film production center Annapurna Studios, where he was supervising preparations for a major outdoor film shoot of a battle scene for the historical film Rajanna, which was to take place the following day.

For this film Lokesh was working with a team of 6 people:  a cutter (D. Sachinaran), 3 stitchers and 2 workers who were building puttees and sandals.  In this lively and purposeful workspace, we found piles of turbans in one corner, piles of military belts in another corner, racks of British military uniform jackets, and someone diligently making inventory check lists. Since he was supervising multiple projects in different locations, designer Lokesh was constantly on the phone with people who were working on his other design projects.  Lokesh exhibited a remarkable clarity of mind and purpose, in juggling overlapping responsibilities to multiple creative projects.

An artisan building puttees for the next day’s shoot of a battle scene for the film Rajanna at Annapurna Studios, Hyderabad. Photo credit: Cheri Vasek.

Even in the chaos of preparing hundreds of military costumes, great care was taken to craft authentic period-accurate handmade sandals for the villagers. This balance of focused diligence and prodigious productivity under looming time constraints was remarkable.

An actively used shrine outside of the Production Offices at Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad, Telengana, India. Fresh flowers and garlands are in evidence. Water on the platform suggests that the shrine was recently cared for. During multiple visits to the Production Offices, several production assistants brought us to this shrine, to emphasize its importance. Photo credit: Cheri Vasek.

As evidenced in our research, the ingenuity seen among film costume professionals in India is perhaps a sum of their creative skills, their complying personalities and willingness to perform under pressure, and also possibly a product of the environment in which they work. Indian art historian Vidya Dehejia has written about how the sacred and profane intersect, overlap and inform each other in India.[i] This intermingling of energies, creative forces, media—whether sacred art or art in profane and secular projects—perhaps stimulates the mindfulness required to thrive in the often chaotic and demanding film industry.

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the two peer reviewers, Urmila Mohan, Michael Schuster, Bill Feltz, Eric Chang, Asgar Ali, Robin Figueroa, Mahesh Sriram, Sivarajan Prasad, Eva Enriquez, Kelsey Peacock, Eden Nicole Romano, US Institute of Theatre Technology, East-West Center Arts Program, Watumull Foundation and University of Hawai’i, Manoa.

Endnotes

[i] Dehejia, Vidya. “The Sensuous Within Sacred Boundaries” in The Body Adorned: Dissolving Boundaries Between Sacred and Profane in Indian Art. New York: Columbia University Press, 2019, 75-111.

[ii] Ganti, Tejaswini. “Narrative style, important themes, and key conflicts” in Bollywood: A Guidebook to Popular Hindi Cinema. New York: Routledge, 2014, 103-136.

[iii] Wilkinson-Weber, Fashioning Bollywood:  The Making and Meaning of Hindi Film Costume, Bloomsbury, 2014, 2.

[iv] Bennett, Jane. Vibrant Matter: A Political Ecology of Things. Durham: Duke University Press, 2010, 20-38.

References

Balraju, Kalavathy, interview with Deepsikha Chatterjee and Cheri Vasek. 6/30/2011.

Bennett, Jane. Vibrant Matter: A Political Ecology of Things. Durham: Duke University Press, 2010, 20-38.

Chatterjee, Deepsikha and Cheri Vasek. “Bedazzled Bollywood Costumes: Understanding Cloth, Context and Creation” in DRESS, the Journal of the Costume Society of America, 45, no. 2, 2019: 127.

Dehejia, Vidya. “The Sensuous Within Sacred Boundaries” in The Body Adorned: Dissolving Boundaries Between Sacred and Profane in Indian Art. New York: Columbia University Press, 2019, 75-111.

Ganti, Tejaswini. “Narrative style, important themes, and key conflicts” in Bollywood: A Guidebook to Popular Hindi Cinema. New York: Routledge, 2014, 103-136.

Kumar, DJS and Satish Kumar, interview with Deepsikha Chatterjee and Cheri Vasek, 7/1/2011 and with Cheri Vasek, 7/23/2013.

Kumar, Satish, digital interviews with Cheri Vasek, 11/7/2019 and 5/30/2020.

Lokesh, interview with Deepsikha Chatterjee and Cheri Vasek, 7/15/2011.

Murugan, interview with Deepsikha Chatterjee and Cheri Vasek, 7/1/2011.

Vanaja, interview with Deepsikha Chatterjee and Cheri Vasek, 7/1/2011.

Wilkinson-Weber, Clare M. Fashioning Bollywood: The Making and Meaning of Hindi Film Costume. London:  Bloomsbury Academic, 2014.