Sensational and goosebumpy. Anasuya Sengupta in the trailer of The Shameless, directed by Konstantin Bojanov, a film that got her worldwide recognition overnight and made her a household name in a matter of 24 hours post her staggering Best Actress win at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard category on Friday. A first by an Indian actor.
If the trailer offered a glimpse of the Calcutta girl’s power-packed, hard-hitting performance, her red-carpet outfit designed by Ayushman Mitra of Bobo Calcutta, a homegrown label with an international versatility, which turns 10 this year, complemented that very same statement personality. Arrestingly simple and oh-so-cool. Ayushman, ‘Bobo’ to his friends, gave Anasuya, ‘Tini’ to her friends, a dazzling floor-sweeping hand-embroidered gown made of silk in red and black.
“I didn’t want to put the faces or the eyes on the red carpet that I generally use in my work and because the film spoke about a queer couple, we decided to use flowers. I work in fashion and art and I do understand how the red carpet looks. I didn’t want something ostentatious, but rather something that belongs to her because she is a Bengali,” Ayushman told t2.
The motifs were developed from his paintings and then printed and embroidered. Ayushman said Anasuya had her inputs too. Red was quite a character in the dramatic ensemble. “We also wanted to talk about the colour red. It is a colour close to me. In the trailer, it talks about blood. I played safe with blacks and it almost frames the massive flowers,” explained Ayushman.
Like Anasuya’s win, it was also the first time Ayushman had dressed someone for a red carpet. “From being a Beleghata boy to my creations brushing the Cannes red carpet, that’s all that I want as an artist,” he smiled.
Ayushman first got to know Anasuya a month-and-a-half back while putting together a look for Cannes. “Shanghatik mohila (she is terrific). She rides a Bullet and is a painter and an illustrator. The way she speaks and talks, this is who we are and the India we live in. I am generally not attracted to women, but she was so beautiful that I questioned my own sexuality once!” laughed Ayushman.
Before she left for Cannes, Ayushman and Anasuya also did a quick fun shoot in Goa, with her in a Gulabo sari and smokey eyes, riveting. “It was so organic and positive,” Ayushman looked back.
Having met her once, Ayushman felt her win was even more impactful because “she is not that person” that you saw in the film. “And that’s what makes her even more powerful... that’s acting! I am over the moon!” he smiled.