Recently there was a news piece making the rounds that for her upcoming film ‘Morning Walk’, Sharmila Tagore insisted on designing her own wardrobe. She did so in order to go with her character in the film and hence went out of her way to source Baluchari and Daccai sarees from West Bengal.
However, the official costume designer of ‘Morning Walk’, Gurpreet Virk (for whom this is her maiden venture) has a different story to tell. “It’s untrue that Sharmilaji sourced sarees from outside. In fact not even one saree used in the film was designed by her”, says the young woman in a hurt tone.
So how did the story really originate?
“Search me”, she says with a puzzled ex-pression, “What actually transpired was that she wanted to maintain her Bengali look in the film. For that she insisted that sarees be brought from Kolkata. Due to this, some sarees were indeed brought from Kolkata though most were procured from Mumbai itself. After that I sent her the pictures of all the sarees. Moreover, since at that time she was shooting in South Africa for Nagesh Kukunoor’s ‘8X10 Tasveer’, a team member took the parcel consisting of pictures and some trial wardrobe.”
Gurpreet is also surprised about the part where Sharmila Tagore is said to have designed her own look.
“Shamila-ji just came one day prior to the shoot and subsequently approved the costumes. She in fact started shooting from the very next day so I have no idea that from where did the story about designing her own look came in. What I am stating are clear facts and I am sure no one from the production house can deny or disagree with them”, she adds.
She continues to have utmost respect for the lady and fondly remembers the times that she spent with her.
“Sharmila-ji is indeed a perfectionist and so is Nargis. Together, both of them kept me on my toes all the time. In fact, it’s true that she didn’t approve of some of the outfits of Nargis. However, she never ever mentioned that in front of Nargis and instead told this to someone in the production house. Later, I did come to know about this. Still, she never interfered in anyone’s looks, whether it was hers or Nargis’s; she allowed us to do our own jobs”, Gurpreet sets the records straight!
