Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy is shaping up to be quite the magnum opus and the Chiranjeevi-led epic will boast a plethora of exotic costumes to boot. Designer Uthara Menon, along with Sushmitha Konidela, seems to have outdone herself with the collection of period costumes for the movie.
Rajeevan Nambiar, the production designer of Sye Raa, had approached Menon for the film. "I and Rajeevan had worked for Manam and Sarrainodu. We always wanted to collaborate with production designing and when this film began happening, he asked me to work for it and I said yes," said Uthhara, who is director Gautham Vasudev Menon's sister.
Uthhara said that she feels honoured to have styled an actor like Chiranjeevi, that too for his first-ever periodic drama. She added that works hard, whether the film is small or big.
When asked if she feels the pressure of such a huge production, she said, I don't get buckled up under the stress and pressure. This movie is a story of the 1800s. Nobody even knows how Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy looked. So we were completely blank on where and how to start. We first put together an efficient and talented team of art directors, concept artists and costume designers."
The team of stylists had begun working on the costumes about seven months ago, using books and internet as reference material. "I wanted to keep it as authentic as possible. Right from the kind of jewellery they wore to the fabrics used and draped, everything was new for the team," said Menon.
Talking about the kind of support she has got from producer Ram Charan Tej and Megastar himself in terms of budget, Uthhara said, " We used to have fortnight's meetings with all HODs present to share what was styled and to brainstorm on any new ideas and to make corrections. Charan used to be present at each and every one of those sessions. We discussed work so obviously as a producer."
