Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's iconic red lehenga costume from her role in Jodhaa Akbar (2008) continues to stand out as one of the most recognizable outfits in Indian films. The costume, which was crafted by designer Neeta Lulla, has lived past the movie's premiere. It is still celebrated as a cultural symbol of bridal fashion and even featured at the "Color in Motion" exhibition at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles in 2025. Through an Instagram post, Neeta Lulla recently revealed insights into how the costume was designed.
Neeta Lulla was given the responsibility of creating an amazing range of wardrobe pieces for this movie. She revealed, "I designed 2,600 costumes for Jodhaa Akbar in the limited colours we set out for the canvas. But here was yet another challenge. The DOP was shooting almost entirely in natural light. It sounds beautiful, right? Except that natural light highlights every shiny fabric. So, every lehenga, every dupatta, every single piece had to be matte. No shimmer, no shine, nothing,"
It changed everything from how decisions were made. Neeta Lulla stated the problem was in creating an image that was Mughal bridal, grandiose, but not showy in daylight. There had to be a grandeur to the lehenga but without the usual shine.
This was done by making the bottom part of the outfit from organic cotton and mull cloth. Soft and breathable material made up for a dull base on which heavy work could be done without making it too shiny. Artisans used kasab and resham threads to make hand embroidery designs. The idea here was to duplicate the effect of the brocade using threads.
After that, the surface was decorated using traditional decorations such as gota patti, kundan, and metals. All these materials were first mattified and then applied. These decorations did not serve the purpose of adding shine but texture, which gave the material a three-dimensional appearance.
Neeta Lulla also invested two to three months of research in the visual history of Mughal and Rajput culture. Motifs were chosen from architectural and textile sources to make them culturally authentic. It was then followed by four more months of construction in which textiles underwent dyeing, aging, and embroidery.
She also added, ""Every bagh-booti, every zardozi pattern was historically grounded, camera-ready, and never crowded the frame. And today, brides across the country and the globe still recreate that lehenga for their own wedding day because that is the power of cinematic couture - when a costume transcends the screen and becomes a woman's dream."
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