The Begum Jaan and her stylist

Bandra—boy and Bollywood stylist Rick Roy is the creative mind behind the rustic look Vidya Balan sports in her upcoming film Begum Jaan. The trailer, which introduces the actress as a brothel owner, has been receiving some rave reviews online. Rick, who has worked with Sonam Kapoor in Dolly ki Doli and Malaika Arora in Housefull 2 earlier, is often known for styling actresses in snazzy outfits. As someone who usually designs for song and dance numbers, working on a period drama was a breath of fresh air for Rick.

Set during the Independence era, Begum Jaan came with its own set of challenges, reveals Rick, with time constraints being one of them. “I was brought on board when the designer they had hired stepped back at the last minute. With this film, we were racing against time, and had to complete the entire look in 20 days. Not just for Vidya, but also the entire cast including the junior artistes,” Rick shares.

Rick has known Vidya for a few years now but this is his first film as a stylist with her. “When her manager called me and said that Vidya was interested on having me on board, I was ecstatic,” smiles Rick.  “Bollywood tends to tag people. They know me only as a stylist who has done jazzy, shiny, over the top Bollywood songs, but this was my chance to work on a period drama.”

The brief given was simple, the film is set in the Independence era and the clothes had to reflect just that. “I did my research and spoke to relatives of friends from the Partition era. I saw their jewellery and some clothes, and I’ve tried replicating the motifs in the film.  The fabric used in those times was mostly cotton, and we have used only vegetable dyes to get the authentic feel. We have designed 45 outfits, including dupattas, skirts, kurtas with embroidery and a little bit Phulkari for Vidya, in a muted colour palette,” he informs us.

Shot across Jharkhand, Delhi and Punjab, with soaring temperatures of 45 degrees around the sets, Rick’s team had to make sure that the cast was comfortable in the outfits. “A director once told me that if the actors are comfortable in what they wear, it would naturally reflect in their acting. The first time Vidya donned the outfit for the trials, she completely got into the character and started talking and walking in the same tone as begum would, to the delight of everyone on the sets,” Rick beams, as he reminisces the time spent on the sets.

Vidya is the most non-interfering actress one would ever one across feels Rick. “She is pretty sorted. If you can’t teach me how to act, who am I to tell you how to style, she would often say. All the clothes that she wears in the film were not ironed at all and even this was Vidya’s suggestion. People in those days used to just wash their clothes and keep them under the bed; they did not have the time, energy, or the acumen to iron their clothes, and Vidya suggested we do the same,” he signs off.