Fashion designer Bhanu Athiya who won the Oscar for the best
costume design for Sir Richard Attenborough’s “Gandhi” in 1983 has a repertoire
of 150 films. She worked with noted filmmakers like Gurudath, Raj Kapoor,
Ashutosh Gowarikar and international filmmakers like Conrad Rooks and Richard
Attenborough.
She started her
career as a freelance fashion illustrator with various women’s magazines in
Mumbai. She designed costumes for the first time in Gurudutt’s film CID, and then
there was no looking back. She dressed Waheeda Rehman in Guide which was ionic.
She won two national awards for Lekin and Lagaan.
She researches extensively and paying attention to details is
her forte. It was a challenge designing the costumes of thousands of characters
in ‘Gandhi’. The costumes of Gandhi played by Sir Benkingsley which he switches
from western wear to traditional Kathiawadi outfit and finally to dhoti and
shawl that endured him to masses. Detailed of Kasturba sarees from Chinese crepe
with swiss velvet borders that she wears in South Africa for Khadi. She was a perfectionist
in smallest of details like the one kasturba’s sari with the motif “M” which
was there in the original photograph.
She turned author with “The art of costume design” in which
she traced the evolution and detailing of the costumes in Indian films.
While recently 84th Academy Awards are fresh in
our minds, she is still only fashion designer who won the Oscar.
I hope we draw some inspiration from this great personality make
our career worthwhile and rewarding.
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