New Delhi: One half of the design duo Rimple and Harpreet, Rimple Narula, who is the costume designer for the upcoming adaptation of Ramayan, said that she anticipated backlash but never thought the “blouses would become a talking point.”
The trailer of Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana has quickly become a talking point online. While many praised the film’s grand scale and visuals, others questioned some creative choices, including casting Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama and the costumes of key characters like Kaikeyi (Lara Dutta), Shurpanakha (Rakul Preet Singh) as well as Sita (Sai Pallavi). The film is set to release in theatres on 8 November.
For weeks now, social media has been debating the film, with many saying the costumes and styling feel more like a modern TV adaptation than a mythological epic.
“I don’t know why everyone is after the blouses? Can we please look past the blouses? Neither did they leave Adipurush, nor are they leaving us. I don’t know what people want,” Narula told ThePrint.
Critics are also questioning Shurpanakha’s off-shoulder blouse, lending the character a sexier avatar.
“Why should I cover her body? She is a Sri Lankan princess. They have tropical weather; there are no winters. There is a geographical effect,” Narula said, describing Shurpanakha as a “gorgeous shape-shifter woman”, who was not afraid to speak her mind.
“A lot of people from today’s generation will relate to her,” she added.
The designer admitted that creating the mood board for Ramayana was a “giant responsibility” as the epic is alive in the collective consciousness of every Indian.
For Narula, one cannot design a Ram or a Ramayana sitting and looking at textbooks or by going to museums.
“It is not the Mughal Era or a certain period 100 years ago. You are talking about an era which is thousands of years old and has lived through various adaptations,” she said.
But despite the criticism, Narula is content and proud of the effort her team has put into it. The 47-year-old designer added that the team has done a “fantastic job in giving a visual language” to the Hindu epic and has been true to their art and craft as well as the original text. She urged audiences to trust them the way they have done in the past with Padmavat (2018) and Heeramandi (2024).
“Why would I blow up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that has the potential of winning Oscars,” she exclaimed.
Since the launch of the trailer on 30 July, Sai Pallavi’s portrayal of Sita in a saree has also become a topic of objection among viewers.
But Narula said that she has simply tried to recreate how she imagines the Hindu deity.
“I am a late 70s kid. I have tried to recreate what I have prayed to. It’s my interpretation. This is how I imagine Goddess Sita,” Narula added, before questioning why audiences are not looking at the finer details.
Narula is puzzled at the anger toward sarees because, she argued, temples across the country show Sita in “beautiful pleated sarees.”
“I don’t understand why people can’t see beyond the blouse. Why can’t they see the emotion? Why can’t they see the fabric? How it crushes? Why can’t they see the craftsmanship? Why do the colours look so muted because I have used vegetable dye? Why can’t they see the garment is looking lived-in instead of decorative? Why can’t they see the effort that has been put in to put gemstones instead of Swarovski? We wanted to show the world that we are the pioneers when it comes to putting gemstones on clothes,” Narula said.
The designer added that she has deliberately stayed away from anything Mughal, anything new age or synthetic. Yet, the backlash followed. However, she still hopes that when audiences see the final product on the big screen, they will understand the vision behind it.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)