Raabta by Rahul levels up with fine jewellery for Kangana Ranaut’s film Chandramukhi 2.0

The ornaments have been designed to match Ranaut’s character Chandramukhi in the movie for which techniques such as bandhai, jadai and thappa have been used in the jewellery

Rahul Luthra, the creative director of Raabta by Rahul joined hands with the well-known legendary Indian fashion designer Neeta Lulla to create exclusive Chandramukhi looks for Kangana’s character in the movie.

Rahul has designed jewellery for various Bollywood celebrities like Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif and Alia Bhatt, to name a few for their wedding and ad campaigns but he is super excited for this upcoming project as he has done some never-seen-before exclusive jewellery looks for Kangana in the film.

Q. As a master of precision how did you go about designing the upcoming collection for Chandramukhi?

Rahul: The character of Chandramukhi demanded extreme precision and detailed jewellery pieces, there was no chance of going wrong anywhere, I studied the character in detail with Neeta ma’am and took inspiration from age-old jewellery styles of Vijayanagar dynasty & Khajuraho temples to create some extraordinary pieces for Kangana.

I also dug into Jyothika’s character from Chandramukhi so that I understood the director’s vision for Kangana. There are many dance movements in the movie so I made sure that the jewellery looks extravagant yet lightweight and flexible at the same time. I studied and researched Bharatanatyam jewellery to design beautiful looks for the character.

Sooraj chand, kamarband, bugudi, bajuband, mango haar, bangles, anklets, braid ornaments, tassles, toe rings, septum nose rings, are some of the iconic styles which he has designed for Kangana.

The jewellery is handcrafted in 22 karat gold along with various precious and semi-precious stones.

Q. As a designer & gemmologist, what all details did you look into while deciding on the outstanding collection for Chandramukhi?

Rahul: Bharatanatyam jewellery includes a range of ornaments that are worn by the dancers during their performances, the designs are often intricate and feature motifs inspired by nature, mythology and traditional Indian art forms.

I designed small Bharatanatyam jhumkis with attached ear chains called Mattals, for the neck layered necklaces which are traditionally called as Attikai & Malai.

For the waist an embellished waist belt known as ottiyanam which helps in creating a silhouette and precise dance moves for the performer which can be visibly seen by the onlookers. The interesting part of her looks is that I got to sketch all her jewels from head to toe.

I also designed beautiful bejewelled bindis for her forehead though a minute detail but of utmost importance for Shringaar. There are some beautiful headgears and also footwears which are designed keeping the storyline in mind.

The most challenging part was to design intricate nose pins as it has to stay on her even during heavy dance movements, so we made sure we made extras of them for continuity scenes. Jewellery techniques such as bandhai, jadai  and thappa work were used to curate these looks.

Q. What was the most challenging, yet the most interesting part of the entire process?

Rahul: Neeta ma’am requested that we cover all her jewellery with soft velvet cloth from the back side so nothing pokes Kangana during shooting of dance sequences.

Though it was very challenging and velvet stitching in jewellery needs a lot of precision, our team made sure it was done perfectly in no time.

The colour of the jewellery is essentially antique gold keeping temple jewellery of south in mind studded with beautiful rubies, emeralds and rice pearls.

Some never done before jewels include intricate body chains & shoulder accessories which were stitched directly on the garment to bring one of the most regal & authentic looks.  

Kangana’s character in the movie demands heavy looks so I made sure I gave her layers of necklaces and some beautiful headgears which have old world charm but can also be styled on a modern-day bride.

Movies create fashion and I wanted to make sure the looks of jewellery we create are heirloom but also contemporary.

We made special 5-row ghungroos for Kangana and adorned them with beautiful floral motifs traditionally called salangai. They create a loud sound for robust effect during dance moves.

The raw materials were sourced from Begum Bazaar of Hyderabad and was then fused with the design aesthetic of the brand.

The movie directed by P. Vasu featuring Raghava Lawrence, Kangana Ranaut & Laxmi Menon and produced by Lyca Productions is set to release near Ganesh Chaturthi in September and Rahul Luthra is very excited to present his period jewellery designs to the audiences.

Rahul is super excited to launch the collection in their flagship store & on their website https://raabtabyrahul.com/ with the release of the movie.

Do check it out and stay tuned for more of Rahul’s latest designs and his stunning masterpieces.

Courtesy: Outlook India