Neeta Lulla is a designer who has invested many years in the Hindi film industry. Recalling her long journey in fashion and films, Neeta says, “I never wanted to be a part of the film industry. I wanted to be a fashion choreographer.”
Debut in movies
But life had something else planned for her, Neeta was asked to design costumes for one of her relative's film Tamacha starring Kimi Katkar. “I took it up and actually began enjoying designing costumes for films. Since then, there was no looking back,” said Neeta.
Filmography
Neeta has designed costumes for some of the top grossing and popular movies like Chandni, Hum Apke Hai Kaun, Devdas, Jodhaa Akbar and many others. She says, “I have done over 300 films and have worked with 90 different celebrities. This industry has been kind to me and I can proudly say that I was never out of work.”
Question her about her most challenging film and she replies, “Every film is challenging. Every time I start working on a film, I think that this is the most challenging film I have ever worked on but I am always proved wrong as another film comes along.” Neeta asserts that designing for films is different from designing for a fashion line. She explains, “I am designing costumes for a character of the film and not for a real person. The cuts and fabric are all different. It is important to understand the character well, to keep in sync with the overall look of the film and it is also important to understand the director’s expectations and vision of the film.”
Celebrity clients
Neeta Lulla and Aishwarya Rai’s camaraderie goes a long way. Neeta recalls, “I met Aishwarya for a shoot even before the Miss India contest. After she was crowned ‘Miss World’, I was offered to design costumes for her film ‘Jeans’. Since then Aishwarya and I have worked together.” Neeta’s other celebrity clients include Hrithik Roshan, Dia Mirza, Hema Malini, Ameesha Patel among others. Neeta says, “I share a good rapport with all the celebrities that I have worked with. They all have their own comfort zone and style sense and over time I have known their tastes better. All of them are very dear to me but one person whom I thoroughly enjoy working with, is Hema Malini.” She adds, “I started designing for her just before the release of her film, Baghban. And now I design for her dance shows as well.”
Challenging perceptions
Neeta asserts that unlike the common perception, fashion designing is not a glamorous job. She says, “It is not like a corporate job where you sit in an office for a couple of hours and do your job. We sometimes work continuously for 72 hours in some workshops which are not even comfortable. It’s lots of hard work.”
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