Making of Dulquer and Mrunal's old-world charm clothing revealed

From the recently released teasers of Vyjayanthi Movies "Sita Ramam", what one could not take their eyes off was for the costumes that were subtle but never missed the grandeur to be along with the storyline, the old-world charm era designed by Sheetal Sharma, known for his absorbing costume storylines to make the characters of the film come alive through his costumes outfits has designed for many films in the past and the recent one is Gangubai Kathiawadi, Sheetal Sharma talks about how he weaved the magic for 'Sita Ramam'.

How did you get involved with 'Sita Ramam?'

It all started around February 2021, I got a call from Swapna Dutt, for a film that she explained to me on a call, it was enough to get excited and to be a part of such an amazing and beautiful love story. So, refreshing, emotional, and beautiful, that's how my journey to be a part of this interesting project began.

Was the wardrobe organic and or research-based? Was the design based on story narrative?

Director Hanu was very clear on the thought process, he likes authenticity yet gives a space to experiment, his vision was so clear. He wanted the old world charm and the lost Beauty of 50s and 60s, so yes there was a lot of research as it's also a story of a soldier, so he wanted the uniforms to look apt and correct with the help of my team we started lining up the process, the costume design in Sita Ramam is Extremely narrative based and even the colour pallet is purely through the narrative.

Who was your favourite actor to dress on set?

We had a set of look tests to run through the looks of each character, both Hanu and Swapna are purely look and feel driven and Swapna especially has an immense knowledge on vintage Jewellery to clothing. All the actors' looks- trials were very interesting. I would say Dulquer and Mrunal both have carried off the looks so beautifully. We kept it very simple, true to time and feel. Yet these 2 actors added a lot of beauty to each outfit designed for them.

How important was the design aesthetic in 'Sita Ramam?'

'Sita Ramam' is a love story and it's one of those very rare films made today were it takes you to the world that existed before. Love in those days was more eternal unlike now, the emotions in the story are so strong and very relatable. For a Film with such emotions, I feel design and colours play a very important part and there are senses that will literally give you goosebumps and tears in the eyes. Hence aesthetics also plays an equally important role. I feel great to be a part of such a film, Hanu explained it so well and I love how Swapna Dutt has the aesthetics of understanding how simplistic can add beauty.

What went behind creating the perfect looks for Mrunal, Rashmika and Dulquer Salmaan?

All 3 characters intervened with each other in the span of 2 decades. 60s to 80s, so each character's look was based on those eras and hence again with research and keeping the characters real to the space and time added a lot of beauty with simplicity. The camera works, art and production design, has further added an amazing old-world charm and beauty in every frame.

How many people worked in styling the characters in the movie? How long did it take to accomplish the task?

With over a month and a half of prep time (way too little for a period film) we had a team that knew both hard and smart working, with the help of Deepika my associate in costumes and Geetha who helped us from production point of view and lined up a very good team, that made the process more simplified where approvals were Involved, I had a team in Hyderabad who knew the plot of the film and the vibe. We had made extensive look books with references and colour pallets so that we all were on the same page. I had Arshita, Sushritha and Ajay who helped me with local sourcing and communication to keep me in the loop with all that was required. It was a great learning experience and though we shot at various locations from Kashmir to Gujarat to Kerala to Spiti Valley to Russia and Back in Hyderabad the entire process was well taken care of and it all fell in place well.

How was it working with Hanu and the other stars?

My very first meeting where Swapna Dutt introduced me to Director Hanu. I could sense from his communication that he had an immense sense of colours, music and how to blend it all with the passing narration, the way he explained each scene, connection of colours and music to each, I knew that it's going to be a great and a very beautiful looking project. He is a master of visuals and clear with his thought process. That does make the process of designing characters much nicer if the visual understanding is strong. When it comes to actors, they were all so calm and very cooperative, we've shot the film in some of the very difficult terrains with peak snow falls and dance, war, and action sequences. Each actor gave us that time and cooperated in every sense. It was indeed an amazing team of actors.

Directed by Hanu Raghavapudi, this romantic drama against the backdrop of war follows the love story between a soldier played by Dulquer Salmaan and his lady love, played by Mrunal Thakur. Rashmika Mandanna plays a very significant role as Afreen in Sita Ramam.

Ahead of the release, the makers have shared some awe-worthy character posters of actors Dulquer Salmaan as Lieutenant Ram, Mrunal Thakur, as the charming Sita Rashmika Mandanna as the rebellious Afreen and Tharun Bhascker as Balaji which has created a lot of buzz and anticipation among the movie audiences.

Backed by Ashwini Dutt and Priyanka Dutt under the banner of Swapna Cinema, Sita Ramam is being presented by Vyjayanthi Movies features Sumanth, Gautam Menon, and Prakash Raj in all important roles The film features camerawork by PS Vinod and Vishal Chandrasekhar is rendering the music.

'Sita Ramam' will arrive in theatres worldwide on August 5, this year, in Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam.