In awe with creating Umrao Jaan, as the designers exhude inspiration and the director of the movie auctions the most-talked about outfits of the season...

Designer Anna Singh is not new to Bollywood. Best known for making Madhuri Dixit's saris a rage in Hum Aapke Hain Koun , Anna's been around since 1989. And she's played the period game before, with films like Mumtaz Mahal .

Still, she admits JP Dutta's new film wasn't easy. "Dressing Aishwarya Rai for Umrao Jaan was tough. The challenge was to be able to take the look to an iconic level."

Anna talks about how she transformed Ash into the Umrao Jaan played by Rekha orginally.

"Aishwarya's outfits go through four transitions in the movie, depicting the phases of Umrao's life. One gold outfit is made with refined resham cloth of pure silver. For this outfit, I have referred to the book, The Motifs of 1800s . The fabric has been re-embroidered, done in salma and sitara work. There are motifs of flowerpots, peacocks, little birds flying, and elephants, etc., as was popular in those days. The concept is unconventional and has a classic, period quality. The gulband style is the way the people of Lucknow wore it -- little pieces of jewellery sewn with different stones like rubies

We have dressed Abhishek in a conventional achkan embroidered with antique beaten gold and gold chikan-kari work. His kurta is made with chikan work in typical Lucknow style and khulla ( loose ) pyjamas with pointed juttis . He also wear formal safas ( turbans ) made with silver-encrusted silk."

J.P. Dutta had announced before the release of Umrao Jaan that the glamorous costumes worn by the gorgeous Aishwarya Rai in the film will be auctioned. The money, which would be collected from the auction, will be used for constructive works, so we hear.

Now when the film has been released, the auction of the costumes worn by Ash has begun. One of the dresses worn by Ash in the movie was bought for Rs. one lakh. This would be a testimony to the fact that Ash still continues to rule the Bollywood scenario, has got a huge craze among her fans and her ethereal looks added glory and glamour to the film.

Some critics may have panned the film, but role of the courtesan played by Ash has earned laurels for her. The movie's costumes have been designed by Abu Jani, Sandeep Khosla and Anna Singh.
To design Ash's elegant outfits in the movie, the designers created new colour palettes after studying the paintings from the 19th century Avadh.

Ash's outfits were very heavy because of overuse of gota, embroidery and semi-precious stones, not to mention the real jewellery she wore in the film, which is quite rare in Bollywood.

(Text courtesy: rediff.com)