When the state awards were declared, Sakhi Elsa was running around selecting clothes for her next project. She was unaware of the award until she started getting congratulatory calls and messages. Sakhi, who won the best costume design award for her work in Shymaprasad directorial Hey Jude, is extremely happy about feat. “First of all, I am thankful to God,” she says. “I am also grateful to Shyamaprasad sir for giving me such a stage. He was there to guide me during my research and gave me proper feedback.”
Hey Jude is her fifth movie with Shyamaprasad. “I have been part of his previous movies Off Season, Elektra, Arike and Artist.” In total, she has done 18 movies including the popular ones Vellimoonga, Second Show, Violin and Kaliyachan. Hey Jude has been a massive project for Sakhi. She had to do a thorough study to bring in costumes that would enhance the characters. A lot of preparation had been done for Nivin’s character, who has Asperger’s Syndrome. “I read blogs that talk about their lifestyle and dressing style and gathered data. Unlike us, aspies dress for themselves. They don’t follow what is in vogue. They only wear dresses that make them comfortable and are in tune with their interests. They are not bothered about what others think,” explains Sakhi.
“Each aspy is different, but they have some common traits. They repeat their favourite patterns until they lose interest in them. I have read about an aspy who wore the same t-shirt for one year because he loved it so much. They are quite particular about the texture of the fabric and they love to cover up themselves. We created the sketch for Nivin’s character keeping all these in mind. His character loves the sea and its creatures. Hence, we used blue and white shades for the character. At the same, he has a fascination for prints. So, we used prints of sea and horizontal stripes in his costumes.”
Other characters of Hey Jude too have their own quirkiness and the costumes reflect that. “Neena’s character is an Anglo-Indian mother. But she doesn’t stand out like Anglo-Indians in other movies. She is from Fort Kochi and is a person who mingles with others. So, we didn’t make her jut out.” Siddique’s character has two shades. “Outside, he wears Guayabera shirts, indicating his knowledge about different cultures. But, he is totally different inside his house. He has an unkempt look.”
Dressing up Trisha has never been a challenge for Sakhi. “The best thing about her is her figure. Anything will suit her. Hers is a moody character. I have chosen the bohemian style for that,” says Sakhi. “For Vijay sir’s character, who is a crazy doctor, I brought a carefree style. His free-spiritedness has been brought into each element of his costume.” Though Hey Jude has been a massive project, Sakhi feels that all her efforts paid off. “It is an extremely gratifying moment,” says Sakhi, a native of Kottayam. “I was brought up in Thiruvananthapuram and have settled in Kochi.”
