Kerala State Film Award winner for best costume designer, Manjusha Radhakrishnan on designing for ‘Saudi Vellakka’

Manjusha Radhakrishnan
| Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT

Listening Manjusha Radhakrishnan describe the process of designing the costumes for Saudi Vellakka, one gets an idea of the scale of effort that went into it. Also that the State Award for Best Costume (2022) didn’t come easily. The work that goes into designing the look of a film like Saudi Vellakka, with a story rooted in the lives of regular folk, is more complex than picking designer labels and garments off the rack. 

“The characters in the film are regular people, who don’t shop for clothes often and would probably wear what they have for years together. The film shows a period of 10-15 years, the clothes had to ‘age’ likewise. It was not an easy task,” says Manjusha. It meant ‘ageing’ the clothes by bleaching and washing them a few times. Close attention was paid even to the footwear — they were sandpapered to look their ‘age’. “It was a blessing that director Tharun Moorthy and the cinematographer Sharan Velayudhan Nair were on the same page, especially with the colour palette.”

Although everything turned out well for the film in the end, despite the delay in release, there was some heartbreak in the beginning. Actor Saudi Gracy or Gracy John who was to essay the lead role of Aisha Rawther on whom the team had done a look test succumbed to COVID-19-related complications. The death was a shock to the entire team. “It was heartbreaking. Although I had met her only a couple of times, we were in constant touch over the phone.” The death also threw the team into a tizzy as they had to find an alternative Aisha. 

Manjusha with Devi Varma 
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

When Devi Varma, who essayed Aisha’s character eventually, came on board they had to rework everything. She was also particular about what she wore. “Devi amma did not wear synthetics, she always wore a neriyathu [upper cloth of the Kerala set-mundu]… I had to factor in all these things when I designed for her. She had to be comfortable. Voile fabric wouldn’t do, we had to use handloom with motifs of cottons saris printed on them and then ‘aged’ them by bleaching. The dyes used were also natural,” Manjusha says. 

She designed the look of each actor in such a way that it reflected the character’s personality. “Aisha’s son Sathar [Sujith Shankar], for instance, has no identity of his own, so I dressed him in loose shirts with checkered prints. We had a discussion with one of Tharun’s cousins who is a lawyer to get an idea of how lawyers dress in court, we wanted to stick as close as possible to reality.”      

Manifesting the award

“I manifested this award when I was doing the film and afterwards too. Tharun kept telling me that I would land the award, I also felt that it [the State Award] would be mine. When the announcement came last Friday I couldn’t believe it. My TV had conked and I was watching the announcement on my mobile phone. When the Minister mentioned my name, it took some time to sink in; I was in a daze for a couple of days,” she adds.      

Designing for films was never part of her plans. In fact, she has her own label, Label Vastramika, which she retails online and via exhibitions. A chance offer as a stylist for a 2017 short film Kaatil led her to the film industry. Manjusha relocated to Kochi in 2016 after a stint in Switzerland. A fashion design graduate from the Madras Institute of Fashion Technology, she worked as a designer-partner for a cousin’s business in Bonn and Zurich. “When I relocated to Kochi, my plan was to start a stitching unit but here I am…” says the 38-year-old.

She took the acting route to films. “That is how I began my journey, but that is done. I enjoy being behind the scenes more,” she reveals. She has acted in films such as Sunday Holiday, Vijaysuperum Pournamiyum and Ente Mezhuthiriathaazhangal.  

After Kaatil she worked as stylist and actor for Vidhu Vincent for several government ads, and turned costume designer for Vidhu’s Standup. “That was my second film. My first film, the one that prepared me for the film industry, was Sakalakalashala (2019) directed by Vinod Guruvayoor. It was my first film as a costume designer.”

But the film that got her recognition was Tharun Moorthy’s Operation Java. Some of the other films she has been costume designer for are Wolf and Neymar. A project that she is working on is Turkish Tharkam.