'Devdas' redefined costume design

National Award-winning designer Neeta Lulla flipped the pages of history to look back on her experience of working on filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 2002 blockbuster “Devdas”. She spoke about how the film transformed the execution of costume design in Indian cinema by introducing dedicated costume assistants.

Neeta shared a video of herself talking about the costumes she worked on for Devdas. She went on to share a string of Aishwarya’s look as Paro from the film in the clip.

"I know I spoke about Devdas some time back, but going through my archives and some old photographs, I found these interesting pictures, and they brought me back to memories from when I was working on Devdas. I was a very new designer, comparatively new, and I didn't have a big workshop then,” said Neeta.

She added that her workshop was all of 350 or 400 square feet.

“I had five to six master tailors who used to cut the garments and stitch them with me. How we created these outfits, how we worked day and night, and created the look for Devdas still amazes me,” the actress said.

Neeta added: “This was the first time I had requested assistance, and Sanjay had given me five assistants. This was also the first time in the history of filmmaking that a designer had five assistants to monitor the looks on set so that they looked absolutely impeccable."

In the caption section, Neeta said that “Devdas” was not just a cinematic masterpiece.

“It quietly transformed the way costume design was executed in Indian cinema. My team and I worked day and night from a small workshop in a grandiose that made history. For the first time, a dedicated team of costume assistants became an essential part of the filmmaking process.”

She concluded: “With hundreds of handcrafted looks, multiple characters, and intricate continuity across every frame, costume design evolved into a department that demanded precision, planning, and collaboration. What audiences saw as effortless grandeur was made possible by an entirely new way of working behind the scenes.”

“Devdas” also stars Jackie Shroff, Kirron Kher, Smita Jaykar, and Vijayendra Ghatge. Based on the Bengali-language 1917 novel of the same name by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, the film narrates the story of Devdas Mukherjee, a wealthy law graduate who returns from London to marry his childhood friend, Parvati "Paro”.

However, the rejection of their marriage by his own family sparks his descent into alcoholism, ultimately leading to his emotional deterioration and him seeking refuge with the golden-hearted courtesan Chandramukhi.