Inside the intricacies of Ponniyin Selvan’s jewellery design

For an authentic, detailed recreation of the Chola Empire, Madras Talkies collaborated with the historic jewellery house Kishandas & Co. in Hyderabad.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Ponniyin Selvan: Part One

Pratiksha Prashant, the creative Director and CEO of the storied Kishandas & Co (one of Hyderabad’s oldest jewellery ateliers established in 1870), is caught up in a whirlwind of activity and is switching effortlessly between Telugu, Hindi and Gujarati at her family’s flagship store in the heart of Hyderabad.

With Tanjore paintings, antique furniture (this was the family home till a decade ago) and glittering pieces of jewellery for company, the atelier could have been a setting from a period movie. Incidentally, it is a period film, Mani Ratnam’s upcoming magnum opus, Ponniyan Selvan, for which the jewellery house has designed and is winning accolades for its craftsmanship and elegance.

“It was in 2019 that the costume designer Eka Lakhani reached out to us, after our mutual friend and actress, Aditi Rao Hydari, referred us,” recalls Pratiksha and adds, “We initially provided some sample pieces from our existing inventory and once the looks were locked, started creating specific pieces of jewellery.”

The firm worked on the jewellery for almost a year, with one (out of their three) workshops on the project exclusively. The making of the jewels took around six months for the total process, from inspiration, to studying history, to character specification, and had 50 craftsmen working on it.

They created more than 400 pieces of jewellery for the lead characters and sourced thousands for the secondary and tertiary cast, which included warriors, dancers and courtiers. From ornaments for hair and forehead (hair pieces and maang tikkas), ear and nose pieces, hip chains, rings, bangles, amulets, neck pieces and others, they created jewellery which royal ladies and men of yore used to wear for different occasions.

The jewellery house excels at temple jewelry and pieces worn in the south – the Hasli, the Gottapu Pusallu, the Champa Swaralu the Mango Maala, as well as the ornaments worn by the women of the Nizami era – the Pasas, the intricate Saat Ladas, the Raani Haar, the Haath Phools, and have incorporated elements of these designs to create a portmanteau of pieces in vintage settings.

Trisha and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Ponniyin Selvan: Part One

Trisha and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Ponniyin Selvan: Part One

While the pieces were designed by brothers Nitin and Prashant Kishandas, Pratiksha (the latter’s wife) worked extensively on research and look, enabling that the jewelry fit in effortlessly with the overall look of the film.

Research behind the scenes

The production team of Madras Talkies provided the team with a lot of research and pointers. “Eka Lakhani and the team did extensive research on the types of pieces that could be used and the restrictions we had. We were given character sketches, based on which we created distinct looks for the characters,” recalls Pratiksha.

The team was given relevant data and briefs about the Cholas. They could not use any motifs or symbols involving Vishnu or Krishna because the Cholas were Shiva bhakts. “We use these symbols in our jewelry (at Kishandas), but we couldn’t use those pieces as they don’t fit into the milieu. We were given a rundown of each character’s appearance and hairstyle. The jewellery was then conceptualised in accordance with styling of the clothes and the signature looks which seamlessly merge into the character’s palettes as visualised by the creative genius Mani Ratnam,” shares Pratiksha.

The team at Kishandas spent months researching, reading various texts and creating the jewels for the cast, which reflected the persona of the characters in the movie and enriched the vision and narrative of the movie. The jewellery seen on the characters is handcrafted and recreated to take the audiences back to the Chola era, and the opulence of royal jewelry.

Styles, motifs and inspiration

Temple jewellery first appeared in the 9th century, during the Chola Dynasty. Gold was the base metal used to create this jewellery. The movie recreates these styles crafted in a variety of designs such as lotus, peacock and snakes apart from flora and fauna.

Pratiksha explains, “The motifs used were mostly flowers and filigree work on the jewellery, which is relevant to the Chola era. The stones we used were mainly Burmese rubies, because Burma was connected via trade routes. Very few emeralds, uncut diamonds were incorporated into the jewellery, keeping it true to the period it was set in.”

The jewellery for men was also created to suit the occasion. While gold arm bands and neck pieces were made for scenes in the royal durbar, the Chola empire’s emblem, the Tiger, is taken as inspiration and incorporated into the men’s jewellery such as the claw, rings and armbands to be worn over the armour in the battle scenes.

Pratiksha admits that the main challenge was creating jewellery for men. She laughs,

“We are used to making jewellery for women and today, jewellery for men is limited to neck pieces and rings, so making all these elaborate pieces for men was a new experience for us.

Men used to wear a lot of jewellery in the past, such as armlets, belts, body chains, and kadas, so we had to make them accordingly.”

Another challenge was to create the signet ring, which plays a crucial part in the movie and about which much is described in the novel by Kalki Krishnamurthy, on which the movie is based. Getting the design of the insignia right involved a lot of hits and misses but the team eventually managed to stay true to the essence described in the novel.

Creating a unique look

Distinct looks were created for the female characters. Hair adornments were a key aspect of design. While Trisha, who portrays the role of a princess, was given a high bun, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who plays a queen, is given a traditional South Indian-styled Andal type of a bun. Focus was on hair accessories to distinguish the characters from others and highlight their royal lineage.

Seemingly minor details had a major impact. As Trisha plays Princess Kundavai, who was born into the royal family, she is given a heavier look to resemble inherited wealth. Elaborate neck pieces and complimentary hair accessories showcase her assured standing. Aishwarya, who plays Nandini, the Queen of Pazhuvoor, marries into a rich family, wears showier pieces. Heavy neck pieces, thussis, and heavy maang tikkas mark her look. Sobhita Dhulipala, who plays the role of a happy-go-lucky young woman (Vanathi), is given a fun and flowy look in her jewellery.

Jayam Ravi in Ponniyin Selvan: Part One

Jayam Ravi in Ponniyin Selvan: Part One

Care was also taken to ensure that jewellery does not clash when characters face each other. Pratiksha states, “There is a scene in which Trisha and Aishwarya face each other and we had to ensure that they both blend in. Simple touches like hair accessories, nose rings and layered necklaces were used to create distinctive patterns in style.”

With the images of the characters’ looks going viral, Pratiksha is in a happy space as it is the first movie outing for Kishandas & Co. Would she do it again? “At times, during the making, there were times I thought to myself, ‘What have I gotten into,'” she smiles. “Now, I think the same but with pride. Working with a genius like Mani Ratnam was the high point for us.”

Ponniyin Selvan: Part One is playing in cinemas.