Costume designing is an art, especially when the costumes have to convey the character, the thought process and the emotions of a person or an actor.
Costume designers have to think and walk in the shoes of the persona they are trying to create or enact. The whole process is more than just suggesting which attire should be worn by the protagonist. There is thorough research done about the persona, the background, the thought process, the likes and dislikes, the society and numerous other things.
Bringing a character to life is the most challenging task yet beautiful and satisfying. In the movie English Vinglish, Sridevi enacted the character of Shashi Godbole. Shashi is a middle class housewife whose contact with the outside world is limited to her family and her customers who buy laddoos from her. She is a fantastic cook who makes delicious meals for her family. You will always find her bustling about in cotton saris paired with short sleeve rubia blouses. She is a simple woman, married in a traditional Maharashtrian Brahmin family so her attire in the movie should reflect her background.
There is an emotional side to her as well, she feels let down and alienated in her own household. As she cannot converse in English, her daughter and husband both make fun of her and try not to involve her into their circles. Whatever, appreciation she finds is from her customers who praise her for her cooking skills.
To enact this role, Sridevi's attire had to be simple to convey the simplicity of her character and her emotions as she goes through the monotony of her daily life. So cotton sarees with zari borders, block prints and muted prints make up her look accessorized by a mangalsutra, a curled handkerchief in her hands, a bindi and a plait or a loose hair bun. The objective behind designing this look for Shashi (Sridevi) was to portray her clothes as something that bind her and set her free, they blend her into the crowd and also make her stand out because of the Indianness in them.
Her colors were carefully chosen Indian palette: blues, greens, orange, pinks and maroons. The colors also symbolize her state of mind as she tries to stand up for herself and carry on with the daily course of her life. She wears an off white saree with muted zari motifs during a parent teacher meeting at her daughter's school. The color chosen for the saree here is a reflection of the insecurity that she feels - zari with off white here are able to capture the mood perfectly.
When she has to travel to New York for her niece's wedding, she wears a Kanchi cotton in maroon with a mustard yellow border and green selvedge. The colour maroon is associated with confidence and courage. Perhaps this colour for the saree was chosen to show that Shashi had to have the courage and confidence in herself to travel to New York without her family.
Her attire in New York undergoes a change in the texture of the saris that she wears while being there. Alongwith the cottons she now also wears tussars, chanderi cottons, chiffons and georgette. Bright coloured sarees with bold prints. They convey her Indianness, as well as, her changed attitude reflected through how she is able to navigate through what life brings her way in a foreign land.
The colors of her sarees reflect her various emotions and feelings throughout the movie. An upbeat magenta tussar saree, a blue tussar when she feels helpless at not being able to convey what she wanted to the rude woman at the cafe, a bright yellow ikat in cotton when she is attending her English language class with her friends (classmates), a subdued cotton block print for a pensive moment and the bright red Chanderi for the wedding.
Throughout the movie, the sari personified Shashi's character in the most authentic way. It captured her every emotion - insecurity, self-doubt, happiness, disappointment, exultation, gaining confidence - in the most beautiful way and conveyed it through Shashi's sartorial choices.
The red Chanderi at the wedding conveyed the change in her - a woman who no longer wanted to remain in the shadow of her family. A woman who wanted to be known for who she was - a compassionate, self-made, confident and courageous woman. A woman who was ready to take on the world.
The movie left an indelible mark on all those who watched it. A great performance by Sridevi as Shashi Godbole - her character resonated with so many women who find themselves in similar situations but do not know how to navigate through them. And lastly - the beautiful saris that portrayed Shashi's every emotion beautifully.
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