As designers, Vipul Amar and Harsheen Arora of The V Renaissance try to understand the personality of the individual they are designing a product for, what the wearer wants and then try and make the design and product tangible for them. So when Delhi-based designer duo was approached to create warrior armour for actors Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor in the film, Padmavati, they made sure that they stick to the ethics of their brand.
Amar and Arora were contacted in July 2016 to create three armours for the film—two for Ranveer and one for Shahid. To perfect the look, they analysed the on-screen characters portrayed by the actors before giving them the final product and style.
Designers Harsheen Arora and Vipul Amar
Arora, says, “We did not decide the look on the basis of the character of Alauddin Khilji. The first thing that was important for us was to understand Sanjay Leela Bhansali's vision of the his characters because that's what is going to make the film. Once we understood that, we began the process. These actors are so professional that they immerse themselves in their on-screen character and even when they are not shooting, they have to imbibe the character. So it became imperative for us that the armour, even the act of looking at it or putting it on, should help the actor believe that they are that character, in that era and gearing up to fight the war.”
While creating the armours, the duo ensured to keep them as light as possible keeping the factor that the actors would be performing stunts in it and also riding horses while wearing the armours. “Shahid's armour is four and a half kgs and Ranveer's is seven and a half kgs, despite having so many parts in it. They were made of fine-quality leather,” explains Amar.
Besides the two rulers' personalities, the armour has been designed innovatively so as to add strength to it.
“In Shahid's armour, in one of the scenes, people will notice a golden glow while he sits. Now that particular part of the whole armour is constructed with leather and metal infused (brass wires). They are not two separate things but are together. On the other hand, Allaudin Khilji’s armour represents the Sultan that he envisioned himself as. The leather lions on his shoulders show his strong-headedness. The lions have been chiselled and hammered to bring into form—as part of the technique which is also symbolic to Khilji’s conquest. Also, the darkness of the character has been enhanced by engraving reptile scales on the lion heads,” says Arora.
Actor Ranveer Singh in Padmavati
The other factors that were kept in mind while designing the armour included psychological, visual and safety of the actors. Since both Shahid and Ranveer had action sequences in the film, emphasis was laid on making the armour safe for the actors.
“We wanted to create something that could protect their liver, kidney, heart and stomach, in case something some mishap happens during shooting. We wanted to merge leather with something to add strength. However, we did not have any reference work on it because such a thing hasn't been tried so far and while researching, we could not come across ways to ensure the safety. Hence leather and metal were infused together,” clarifies Amar.
Besides this, the chest plate worn by Shahid Kapoor also holds a deeper meaning. In history, metal plates were used to cover the chest area. Since Ratan Singh as a character was loved by the people for the love he had for his country and land and because he embodied truth, honour and nobility, the armour was created in such a way so that the people could feel the emotions for Shahid Kapoor and could automatically understand his character.
Explaining the construction of the chest plate, Arora says, “The leather and the shades used in that leather are symbolic. Since Ratan Singh's symbol was sun and he loved his land, we used the different shades of sand in different light in the plate that is worn by him to protect his heart. So, we tried to portray that he is protecting the land and in turn the land is reciprocating the love for it. Metal was used to symbolise the strength. Keeping all these in mind, we had to infuse strength with love. Below the guest plate, there is a geometrical pattern. This was done as their is a direction and a purpose to it.”
Besides this, attention was also devoted to the storage of the armour. When not in use, the armour rested on life-sized mannequins, which were then placed inside vintage closet trunks and were given layering.
This is not the first time that the duo is working for a warrior film. This designer duo had also helped Sushant Singh Rajput look like a fitting warrior in Raabta, which released in June.
