Strange are the ways of destiny. So believes Sameera Saneesh, one of the sought after costume designers in Mollywood now.
She came into the industry to work in just one film and then go back to what she loved most, designing for ad films. But that wasn’t meant to happen. Today her name is in the Limca Book of Records for working as the costume designer for the most number of films in the shortest span – within five years she has worked in 52 films.
The committee considered her work till How Old Are You? released in May last year. After that she has designed costumes for films such as Sapthamasree Thaskaraha, Iyobinte Pusthakam, Vikramadityan, 100 Days of Love, Oru Vadakkan Selfie and Bhaskar the Rascal among others.
“I was dumbstruck when I came to know about the record. I think it is a first-of-its-kind honour for a Malayali,” says Sameera, with excitement in her voice.
The young designer came as a whiff of fresh air with her work in Aashiq Abu’s Daddy Cool. She hasn’t looked back since then. “I wanted to work only in ad films because it was less time-consuming and I was enjoying my stint in the ad world. So, when Daddy Cool came to me, I wasn’t sure whether I should do it. My husband, Saneesh, and my friends suggested that I should give it a try. Looking back, I am happy that I took the right decision. As a result, I have worked with both senior directors as well as the young guns,” she says. This includes filmmakers such as Sathyan Anthikad, Ranjith, Lal Jose, Blessy, Kamal, Amal Neerad, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Sameer Thahir, Rosshan Andrrews, Ranjith Shankar and Rajeev Ravi among others.
The 31-year-old who started out as a designer for Raymond and followed it up with a remarkable stint in the ad world debuted with an offbeat film, The White Elephant . The going wasn’t easy with each director having a different approach to costumes and accessories. “When I am on the sets of Ranjith sir or Blessy sir, I am a little tense. Working with directors like Aashiq does not stress me at all. But the toughest is working with those directors who have no clue about the importance of costumes!” she says.
When she gets an offer, she first reads the script and then moves on to the cast.
“I have to ensure that the artistes are comfortable with what I am giving them. For example, Mammootty likes wearing light fabric [she was worked with him in 11 films]. I have to take care of accessories as well. Ultimately it is about making these artistes look good on screen. But that doesn’t mean I will work according to their suggestions,” she says.
She is on cloud nine when some of these costumes, especially saris, eventually turn out to be trendsetters, be it Jayaprada’s jute silks in Pranayam or cottons worn by Shobana and Manju Warrier in Thira and How Old Are You?
“I never thought that the plain cotton saris that Manju wore would become such a huge hit. When she came for the photoshoot she was looking very thin and so I wasn’t sure how she would look on screen. But she looked extremely beautiful in the frames.”
Another work that won her accolades was Iyobinte Pusthakam . The period-drama was not an easy assignment, especially with Amal [its director] being very clear about what each character should be wearing.
“When the offer came, I was warned by everyone that Amal is a difficult person to work with. But the script enthused me so much that I wanted to give a try. The colours, patterns, accessories… everything needed that old world look, but had to be stylish as well. I had to go to Ootty to get the shawl Lena wears in the movie. For Padmapriya’s saris, I got the fabric from Chennai and then we did hand embroidery on those. Finally, I was relieved when Amal and I did not have a single disagreement during the whole shoot!” she says.
Her work won her appreciation from Shyamaprasad, a director she would love to work with some day. “I like his films, the colour tone he uses,” she says.
When she entered the industry, there were just two women designers. Now there are at least 10 of them.
“Perhaps, it has a lot to do with the changing perception about cinema. Now there is stiff competition. It has become a place where talent matters and not gender,” she says.
Short takes
* Black is her favourite colour and she loves wearing kurtis.
* She would like to work with Gautham Menon.
* She would love to design for actors Suriya and Priyanka Chopra.
* Her upcoming projects include Chirakodinja Kinavukal, Nee-Na, Premam, Pathemari and Rani Padmini .
