Sony Entertainment Television is gearing for the launch of a period drama titled “Punyashlok Ahilyabai” based on the life of one of one of the most legendary women in the Indian history- Ahilyabai Holkar. Ahilyabai with her grit, determination and a courageous personality battled the societal norms in the 18th century. And in her journey, she received tremendous support of her father-in-law ‘Malhar Rao’. She went onto become one of the most iconic leaders who set an example for generations to come. The show Punyashlok Ahilyabai premieres on 4th Jan and will air every Mon-Fri at 7:30pm only on Sony Entertainment Television.
While depicting the legendary story of Ahilyabai Holkar, it was important to show the era with utmost authenticity and conviction. The costume and jewellery had to be prevalent to the era and the research for the right and appropriate kind of costumes went on for 6 months. The characterization and the interpretation of these characters had to be right through their various ensembles.
Describing the historical as one of the biggest projects in her career, Rohini, the costume designer of the show, said, “It’s a dream come true to be working on a project depicting the life and journey of Ahilyabai Holkar. It was essential that we do justice to the story set in the 18th century and therefore the entire process of sourcing took us close to 6 months. As a team, our starting point was a lot of visual material that we managed to source from libraries. We have tried to portray all the characters in the most authentic way on the basis of old photos and illustrations we could source from the internet, books and paintings. Furthermore, conducting a fabric and jewellery research was necessary, because using the
right pieces makes all the difference in lending authenticity to a character. For example, the character of Ahilyabai will be seen in two different looks – pre marriage and post marriage. While pre marriage she was based in Maharashtra, post marriage she will be seen as a part of the Holkar family in MP. We had to create the looks as per the region and the clothes worn in that era which were distinct. Similarly men wore angarkha in that era and it was a worn in different styles – by younger and older men. What we also considered were colors and textures of the materials being used. The designs of blouses, sarees, jewelry and angarkha worn at that time made a statement and it had to come alive exactly like that.”
She further added, “Personally, it has been an overwhelming experience to see the era come alive in front of our eyes and all the artists doing justice to the characters that they are portraying. Professionally, it has been creatively satisfying and we all hope for a positive response from the viewers.”
Stay tuned to kick start the new year with the magnum opus, “Punyashlok Ahilybai” starting January 4th, every Monday to Friday, at 7-30 pm only on Sony Entertainment Television