I wanted to move away from ramp designs: Samant Chauhan on his film project, creativity and more

Designer Samant Chauhan is elated about designing costumes for director Tigmanshu Dhulia’s film ‘Yaara’, starring Vidyut Jammwal, Amit Sadh, Shruti Haasan, and Sanjay Mishra. The film’s trailer was released on July 8 and has been received well on social media for its rustic feel.

The film portrays the story of four friends who grow up together, earning money through illegal odd jobs. The story line moves from 70s to 80s and 90s showing the indigenous style of leading characters in every era.

Talking about how costumes were created for every character, Samant told Opoyi, “I have taken references from different time zones to design the outfits. For instance, the baggy pants were very much in fashion from the 90s and so were bell bottoms from the 80s. Also the minor details like keeping a comb in the back pocket in that time was kept in mind.”

Detailing the whole process, the designer adds, “Every character has a story and so it was more important to bring out that story through clothes. For example Shruti’s character is a rebel, so we gave her the most chic and sharp designs in  the form of dresses and later on with suits. Vijay Verma’s character is very flamboyant, our struggle was how to tone down the fashion to bring every role alive for the audience to relate with.”

On his inspiration for the designs, Samant adds,”I had my father’s vision in mind when I was designing for male lead. He had  his own style and he carried it so well.”  The designer adds that it’s the director’s vision that has to come across,  “so that took time for me to understand

Samant, who has worked closely with International brands like Tommy Hilfiger  and Armani Exchange , says that it is important for a designer to think beyond just ramp designing and that’s what he was following.

“Working on a film has a very vast canvas and I wanted to
bring variation in my work profile. I wanted to move away from the same costume
designing for ramps. I feel that creativity should not be restricted to one area and with so
many avenues outside, it can work wonders for a designer in many ways,” said Samant whose love for the Bhagalpuri silk has given him a special place in fashion industry.

Talking about how he got this film, the designer said that Tigmanshu was looking for some new designer who has not done any Bollywood movies before. “He wanted someone who can also do very flamboyant menswear. So I was perfect for them and I was also looking for a break. It was a completely different experience for me and I have learned so much. I was always inclined towards film learning and this film was a kind of education to understand the whole process of film-making,” said Samant who has also worked with actors like Manoj Bajpayee, Taapsee Pannu and Madhuri Dixit in the past.

The designer has already signed his next film starring Sanjay Dutt in the lead role. “It is from producer Sandip Singh, who was previously associated with Bhansali productions and was part of Priyanka Chopra starrer ‘Mary Kom’ . The film’s name is ‘Blockbuster’“