Nostalgia is bittersweet. Monalisha Manna’s Earthaments has, however, successfully managed to evoke only sweet ‘remembrance of things past’ with its fashion film Bashor, with which the homegrown brand has unveiled its latest collection. At a little more than three minutes, Bashor, which celebrates a quintessential Bengali wedding ritual that takes place post-wedding and is an all-nighter marked by frolic, is like a lilting melody that shines in its simple romance and “sublime sensuality”.
“There is a mix of cultures now, but we are losing out on some kind of authenticity along the way. Bashor is one such ritual. I feel somewhere a whole generation’s belonging is at stake. The attempt is to root people.
Bashor was cool. You need to revive and nurture traditions. If you don’t know about them, how would you like or dislike them?” says Monalisha.
The mise en scène is an old house in rural Hooghly where Monalisha spends her Dashamis, the last day of Durga Puja. “The house has its own character,” smiles Monalisha.
For the look and feel, the team flipped through old wedding albums for inspiration. And, the execution is an authentic one, taking you back in time and breaking the monotony of a regular wedding collection shoot. “I along with Neal, Tarinmay, Pushpak, Soham and Agnidhra have been planning this for months. Each of them are geniuses when it comes to executing creative projects. Rigorous research for creating this look and the magic wands of Abhijith Chanda (for the bride) and Surojit Sarkar and Abhijit Das (for the rest of the cast) took this project to a realistic level,” says Monalisha.
Bashor’s innocent charm is its strength. “There is a glamour in the mundane which most of us have forgotten,” says Monalisha.
The shoot started at 5pm and went on all night, for that feel of the real ritual. Retro numbers like Madhobi modhupey holo mitali, Legechhe legechhe aagun and Aami Sri Sri Bhojohori Manna add to the mood, songs Monalisha grew up listening to and were wedding staples.
Most of the cast met each other for the first time on the sets and their spontaneous exchange gives Bashor the candour it demands. The intimacy is palpable and a lot of fun to watch.
Monalisha has worked with jorowa for the collection. “We wanted to incorporate jorowa, but with a modern language. This is for brides who want to wear designs rather than a lot of gold. There are rings, studs and buttons for men. We have shot a haathphool on a boy too to champion gender neutrality,” says Monalisha.
Going ahead, she wants to make more such fashion films. “It is a commercial risk, but if you don’t try, you wouldn’t know,” she smiles. And, the ‘crazy’ response to Bashor is just the encouragement she needs. We say, all the best!