Independent filmmaker takes Bengal’s traditional dhuti-panjabi to Cannes

Bengal

’s dhuti-panjabi recently made a big splash at the Cannes film festival, as independent filmmaker

Gourab Kumar Mullick

, a student of

Pune Film and Television Institute

, walked the red carpet wearing a Shantipuri dhuti and a Bengali jama-style panjabi teamed with a tanned boot.

Gourab was invited there for his upcoming film selected in the La Fabrique Cinema Du Monde category.

When we contacted the Barrackpore’s Nonachandanpukur-based filmmaker, he said, “I am making a Hindi film, Starfruit, and am among the 10 filmmakers from around the world whose projects are in development. The coming-of-age film is set in the 1990s with the backdrop of bomb blast. It has a unique love triangle too. This category only includes projects that are yet to be filmed,” he said, adding that he is planning to start shooting from next year.

So, when

Gourab

received the invitation, he knew that the Cannes red carpet was very particular about the dress code and Gourab didn’t want to wear a tuxedo. “I am an independent filmmaker and a Bengali at heart. So, I wanted to wear something that would represent my culture and help the local weavers and designers. So, I contacted my friend and stylist Pushpak Sen, who curated the look. The main idea was to create a quintessential look that’d exude the ethos of Bengal,” he said.

Made of handwoven cotton, the ensemble draws inspiration from Tagore's famous play,

Chitrangada

, and the iconic queen of Bengal, Bhavasankari. One can see a hunting scene of the queen, accompanied by her fellow attendants and warriors, amidst nature. The designer has also used multidimensional techniques of hand-painting, hand-tinting, appliqué, hand embroidery and zardozi to create human figures. The dhuti on the other hand is a bit thick with Peruvian motifs and not as transparent as the usual ones. “People were really excited to see something like this. After the red carpet, people came up to me to take pictures of my outfit. Clearly, they didn’t see anything like this before,” Gourab signed off.