Posted:
Great styling is when it doesn't show | 2008-07-11
For a movie, clothes make the character
I have been thinking about the film 'Jaane Tu...' a lot. And one thing that struck me was that there was no particular attention paid to the clothes the actors wore in the movie.
Or was it that such special attention was paid that it just fit in so beautifully?
There have been many movies where costumes have played an integral part of the script. Take for instance 'Dil Chahta Hai'.
The clothes were perfect and even the hair. Farhan Akhtar and wife Adhuna left no stone unturned.
These were three rich brats who dressed up wild when they went out -remember Saif's silver pants.
They were also beach bums who wore nothing but surfer shorts and cool drawstring pyjamas. Their haircuts suited their personalities. It was a rage. People started identifying themselves with them.
Another movie I remember is 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'. The characters were so distinct that they dressed poles apart.
Kajol in her dirty sports gear that hung on her forever-fat frame.
Shahrukh who wore too tight t-shirts for his then six pack-less frame and Rani who wore short, short stuff for her then thin frame.
They had to be different and they had to be eye-popping.
And though some of the clothes were too garish for my likes, I think it worked.
One movie that really got the whole styling bit wrong was the 'Kabhi Khushi, Kabhi Gham'. It was too over the top.
For example, when you thought of Kareena, you thought of Poo and the hardly-there clothes that she wore in the movie.
Shah Rukh looked dowdy in loosely fitted suits and Hrithik looked the worst he ever has in really tight t-shirts.
And then there are so many dime a dozen movies like 'Cash', where the actors are just props, and are 'decorated' in the most ridiculous of outfits.
Remember the 'Naughty, Naughty' song from 'Cash'. Esha looks completely skanky in shorts and long ponytails (huh). And Shamita Shetty in a cat suit looks more like a buffoon. Yikes.
But 'Jaane Tu...' belongs to a different genre - where a film is aching to reflect normal life very desperately and succeeds. It falls into the genre of 'Rang De Basanti' and 'Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar'.
Let's start with one of my favourite films of all time - 'Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander'. I think if we look back and really try hard to remember, the only costume you will remember from that movie is Pooja Bedi's red dress that lifts up in Marliyn Monroe style.
Other than that, nothing, except may be, Ayesha Jhulka in her loose pants, shirt, waistcoat and cap.
That movie worked because the clothes complemented the characters so well that we missed commenting on them.
Even with 'Rang De Basanti', clothes had to fit the characters.
Soha Ali Khan and the firang actress were dressed brilliantly. Soha wore smart salwar kurtas while the firangi wore jeans with India batik or chicken work tops, giving the impression of college going kids.
Even the guys, with the exception of Madhavan who is a pilot and thus, elder to these others, dressed as casually. I really liked the way Kunal Kapoor dressed-with the long kurtas. He looked hot.
And this is group that 'Jaane Tu...' belongs in. Imran and Genelia dress like any other college kid would.
Genelia is a tomboy, so capris and jeans are the order of the day. Imran does the whole jeans, tee and shirt on top look very well.
Manjari, Imran's girl friend, is cute and sophisticated -wearing dresses most of the times-I guess that's to show the difference between her and Genelia.
The Gujarati boy dresses a little over the top, while the sweet dimwit too girly. The fatso is the most believable of the lot, dressing exactly the way he wants to and Shaleen -well she is the cool one, with red hair and harem pants.
But the one who I really liked was Prateik -the hot brother who only wears shorts and paint streaked t-shirts all through out. But nobody's clothes are bigger than the characters themselves. And that's the charm.
When you leave the movie, you don't think of the clothes or the styling. You think of the plot and the characters. But when you remember them later, you realise how beautifully the styling was done. It was as if the clothes were the person themselves. That's the beauty of 'Jaane Tu...' Kudos.
For a movie, clothes make the character
I have been thinking about the film 'Jaane Tu...' a lot. And one thing that struck me was that there was no particular attention paid to the clothes the actors wore in the movie.
Or was it that such special attention was paid that it just fit in so beautifully?
There have been many movies where costumes have played an integral part of the script. Take for instance 'Dil Chahta Hai'.
The clothes were perfect and even the hair. Farhan Akhtar and wife Adhuna left no stone unturned.
These were three rich brats who dressed up wild when they went out -remember Saif's silver pants.
They were also beach bums who wore nothing but surfer shorts and cool drawstring pyjamas. Their haircuts suited their personalities. It was a rage. People started identifying themselves with them.
Another movie I remember is 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'. The characters were so distinct that they dressed poles apart.
Kajol in her dirty sports gear that hung on her forever-fat frame.
Shahrukh who wore too tight t-shirts for his then six pack-less frame and Rani who wore short, short stuff for her then thin frame.
They had to be different and they had to be eye-popping.
And though some of the clothes were too garish for my likes, I think it worked.
One movie that really got the whole styling bit wrong was the 'Kabhi Khushi, Kabhi Gham'. It was too over the top.
For example, when you thought of Kareena, you thought of Poo and the hardly-there clothes that she wore in the movie.
Shah Rukh looked dowdy in loosely fitted suits and Hrithik looked the worst he ever has in really tight t-shirts.
And then there are so many dime a dozen movies like 'Cash', where the actors are just props, and are 'decorated' in the most ridiculous of outfits.
Remember the 'Naughty, Naughty' song from 'Cash'. Esha looks completely skanky in shorts and long ponytails (huh). And Shamita Shetty in a cat suit looks more like a buffoon. Yikes.
But 'Jaane Tu...' belongs to a different genre - where a film is aching to reflect normal life very desperately and succeeds. It falls into the genre of 'Rang De Basanti' and 'Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar'.
Let's start with one of my favourite films of all time - 'Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander'. I think if we look back and really try hard to remember, the only costume you will remember from that movie is Pooja Bedi's red dress that lifts up in Marliyn Monroe style.
Other than that, nothing, except may be, Ayesha Jhulka in her loose pants, shirt, waistcoat and cap.
That movie worked because the clothes complemented the characters so well that we missed commenting on them.
Even with 'Rang De Basanti', clothes had to fit the characters.
Soha Ali Khan and the firang actress were dressed brilliantly. Soha wore smart salwar kurtas while the firangi wore jeans with India batik or chicken work tops, giving the impression of college going kids.
Even the guys, with the exception of Madhavan who is a pilot and thus, elder to these others, dressed as casually. I really liked the way Kunal Kapoor dressed-with the long kurtas. He looked hot.
And this is group that 'Jaane Tu...' belongs in. Imran and Genelia dress like any other college kid would.
Genelia is a tomboy, so capris and jeans are the order of the day. Imran does the whole jeans, tee and shirt on top look very well.
Manjari, Imran's girl friend, is cute and sophisticated -wearing dresses most of the times-I guess that's to show the difference between her and Genelia.
The Gujarati boy dresses a little over the top, while the sweet dimwit too girly. The fatso is the most believable of the lot, dressing exactly the way he wants to and Shaleen -well she is the cool one, with red hair and harem pants.
But the one who I really liked was Prateik -the hot brother who only wears shorts and paint streaked t-shirts all through out. But nobody's clothes are bigger than the characters themselves. And that's the charm.
When you leave the movie, you don't think of the clothes or the styling. You think of the plot and the characters. But when you remember them later, you realise how beautifully the styling was done. It was as if the clothes were the person themselves. That's the beauty of 'Jaane Tu...' Kudos.
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