Award-winning costume designer Niharika Bhasin shapes characters through culture, craft, detail
In the vibrant, chaotic, and ever-evolving world of Indian cinema, costume designer Niharika Bhasin has carved a distinctive space. With a career that spans over a decade and includes award-winning films like The Dirty Picture, Rock On!!, and Lunchbox, Bhasin is a storyteller at heart—only she tells her stories not with words, but with fabric, colour, and silhouette.
For Bhasin, costume design isn’t just about dressing a character—it’s about inhabiting their world. It’s a process that begins with observing the rhythms of everyday life. “Everyday life and everyday styles are very pertinent to my creating a character,” she says. “You take inspiration from the street, from how people wear their jewellery, show midriff, layer tank tops. All of that translates into film when it fits the character.”
This grounded sensibility is part of what makes her work resonate so deeply with audiences. “I had people call me and say the wedding trends had changed because of Band Baaja Baaraat. Someone even said, ‘You’ve given style back to society.’ It was moving,” she shares. One story that stayed with her was from a parent whose son began wearing a turban again after watching Rocket Singh—a moment where fashion, identity, and confidence all converged.
Bhasin’s work is never about flash for the sake of it. Her characters are not mannequins but people—with flaws, backgrounds, dreams, and complexities. “It all depends on what you want to achieve. Do you want to portray hyper-reality? Fantasy? Or keep it grounded and real? That determines everything from styling to fabric choice.”
Her eye for cultural nuance and authenticity makes her design process deeply researched and layered. “If I’m designing for an engineer, I think deeply about what’s important to them. What’s their background? Their mindset? Then I build the look from there.”
As trends evolve, she watches with curiosity. “We’re seeing the bagginess of the ’80s making a comeback. There is a sense of big styles, people wanting to wear oversized. There is a sense of the prettiness of embroidery of a vintage charm that comes in. Balloon skirts, oversized styles, big leather bags, embroidery, vintage charm—it’s all returning. Co-ord sets are still around but getting simpler, less flashy. And men’s fashion is evolving too—more jewellery, more flamboyance. These details filter into the characters we create.”
But while she’s attuned to style, Niharika is clear that fashion always serves the story. “Authenticity is key,” she says. “You have to stick to what makes sense period-wise and for the here and now.” Whether she’s recreating 1980s Bollywood for The Dirty Picture or defining modern femininity in Shakuntala Devi, every decision is precise, purposeful.
Costume design in cinema, she adds, is always collaborative. “There’s the director, the DOP, the production designer. It’s not just about what the hero or heroine wears—it’s also how their world is dressed. Everyone contributes to the visual narrative.”
Through fabric, detail, and intuition, Niharika Bhasin continues to shape the emotional and cultural texture of Indian cinema—one costume at a time.
“Everyday style is where I begin. It’s real life that builds a believable character.”
