Ramayana: Part One’s golden run at the global box office continues but the trailer of the magnum opus, that was unveiled in July, left the internet divided. While netizens debated on whether Ranbir Kapoor
and Sai Pallavi looked convincing as Ram and Sita, respectively, a certain section of social media users noted a problem with Lara Dutta Bhupathi’s wardrobe as Kaikeyi.
A frame in the trailer showed her in a maroon saree with a green blouse. It caught attention, leading many to opine that it looks ‘too modern’ for Treta Yug. Some even drew parallels between her and a contemporary mother-in-law depicted in Hindi-language daily soaps. Costume designers Rimple Narulah and Harpreet Narula eventually defended their creative choices.
For the first time, Lara breaks silence on the chatter surrounding her costumes in Ramayana and speaking exclusively to News18, says, “I know what the reason was for us to pick certain kinds of garments and the way that we wanted those to be depicted. It’s such a vast project that you’re undertaking and one nitpicked on such tiny things!”
She recalls her discussions with director Nitesh Tiwari and sheds light on why Kaikeyi’s sartorial sensibilities were different than the other queens – Kaushalya and Sumitra. “One of my first conversations with Nitesh sir was that if Kaikeyi came from the kingdom of Kekaya, wouldn’t her jewellery be very different from the other two queens? Wouldn’t she bring her own stree-dhan?” she says.
“But if you want to get into such minute details, then you’re opening up a Pandora’s box and then you would’ve historians and other experts coming up and saying, ‘Oh, how can this be shown and depicted?’ So, there was a standardisation that was decided to be adopted across all three kingdoms – Mithila, Ayodhya and Lanka – to differentiate between those cultures,” Lara adds.
As for her, she decided to completely submit to the makers’ vision. “So, that’s the aesthetic that was chosen and stuck to. Sometimes, you’ve to believe in something, in a vision that’s larger than yourself and everybody else. You’ll have to really believe in the larger picture. Our producer and director have been really able present something [incredible] onscreen,” she remarks.
Lara Dutta further continues, “I mean, I was a part of the film and I’ve been on that set and yet I couldn’t believe what I was watching onscreen when the final result came out.” Having said that, she has chosen to take the online debate to her stride. “Of course, people are absolutely allowed to have their own opinions and I think that it’s wonderful to have debates and discussions,” she states.
A mindset like that eventually helped her shut the noise out. “That’s the beauty of watching something like this – the fact that you’re talking about it. But as an actor, you’ve to finally respect what the director’s vision is and what the producer finally wants to depict. And that’s allows you to drown the noise. You’ve to focus on what you’ve been hired to do and what it is that you want to depict,” she says.
