'Sharmila Tagore didn't approve of my outfits'

By Joginder Tuteja

For newbie Nargis, it was a quick learning on the job while shooting for her third film Morning Walk. While in her first film Garam Masala (where she was paired opposite Akshay Kumar), she had primarily followed Priyadarshan's vision, her second film Pranali featured her as a central character where she could afford to experiment with her costumes on her own.

However, while shooting for her latest film Morning Walk, she had none other than veteran Sharmila Tagore as a mentor. Not only did the veteran actor insist on grooming her when it came to performing in front of the camera, she was also much more than just a helping hand w.r.t newbie's outfits.

Informs a source from the film's production house, "We had heard stories around Sharmilaji being a perfectionist. However, we also got to experience it first hand when she involved herself in every aspect of the film's production.

There were some outfits that were designed for Nargis and we all were quite happy with what was delivered. However, Sharmilaji had some better ideas and she insisted on Nargis being dressed differently. No wonder, the results were better than before."

Even Nargis didn't feel that Sharmila Tagore was being intrusive and was more than happy to go as per her vision. Adds the source, "Nargis realises that Sharmliaji has been a part of the industry for more than four decades and would give suggestions only if they help the project.

Nargis didn't have any qualms around the changes being made. In fact Sharmilaji's demand for excellence and attention to detail kept the production team on its toes. Why just Nargis, she insisted on designing her own wardrobe as well."

To go with her character in Morning Walk, Sharmila Tagore went out of her way to source the most beautiful Baluchari & Daccai sarees from West Bengal.

Jokes a senior professional from the film's production team, "We were fine with her sourcing of sarees. After all, she was managing it all herself and was more than enthusiastic to get nothing but the best.

However, the tricky part was for us to procure the right choice of food for her. We had to ensure that seafood was on the menu every single day of the shoot.

She is a true Bengali at heart and loves seafood. For someone as senior and respected as her, the least we could do was to have her relish her meals. I guess we did a good job in doing that eventually."

Morning Walk, the maiden production venture of INOX Motion Pictures, is all set to hit the theatres on the 10th of July 2009. Directed by Arup Dutta, Morning Walk also stars another veteran actor Anupam Kher along with Rajit Kapoor, Divya Dutta and Shayan Munshi. The 'Balika Vadhu' girl Avika Gor also makes her on screen debut with the film.