Fashion designer Neeta Lulla uploads video of Kangana Ranaut starrer Manikarnika's costume-making

Queen actress Kangana Ranaut is all set to surprise you with her stupendous performance in Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi. The 31-year-old Bollywood actress, Kangana Ranaut is known for her brilliant acting skills as well as sartorial choices. But recently, the actress is generally spotted wearing a variety of elegant traditional sarees every now and then.

While Kangana is undoubtedly pro at pulling off any attire, the actress is giving us all the reasons to turn back to our traditional attire. But now, speaking of her upcoming periodic drama Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi is making headlines for two reasons -one, the subject and two, the rich and elegant costumes which are probably one reason why the actress is going after six-yards of sheer elegance in every occasion now.

The costumes in the film have been made after months of research, rough sketches, and lots of designing. Credited to celebrated fashion designer Neeta Lulla, who has contributed over 300 Bollywood films now, the trailer of the film sings the praises of the historical costumes.

In an interview with Bombay Times, designer Neeta Lulla talked about the extensive research and the exhaustive process of designing the costumes of the film. Speaking of Kangana's avatar, she said: "In the film, we come across four phases of Manikarnika's character. The first being a strong young girl with slightly teen boyish traits, who learns to be a warrior. We used pastel colours to bring out this look. Her second look was of a woman who is married and takes up responsibilities. So, we used a lot of vibrant colours with ornate sarees here. The third part of her life is where she experiences kiss and that's where the transition to being a warrior begins. For this phase, I chose to go with the fabric of khadi in muted Indian colours like deep pinks and greys. Essentially, four distinct portrayals of Manikarnika were possible through the use of colours and fabrics."

Winner of National Award for Costume Design for historical dramas like Devdas and Jodha Akbar, Neeta Lulla gave a treat to our eyes while uploading a few videos and sketches on Instagram of the costume-making process.

Describing the bridal jewellery of Manikarnika, she wrote, “Decoding the bridal jewellery that took two days to put into structure of design and visit frequently to interact with the team of designers, we did a lot of research together, we went back to their archives and had deep discussions about the look and setting especially for the wedding sequence for Kangana.

A special head ornament (Mundavalya) with pearls was created for Kangana’s wedding look, which is considered the most auspicious jewellery in Maharashtrian weddings.

Also, a lot of layering is done, be it with the set of head ornaments or multiple neckpieces to pull the look together.”