National Award winner Deepali Noor says Pushpa’s transformation was her toughest creative challenge

Winning a National Film Award is a milestone for any filmmaker, but for costume designer Deepali Noor, the recognition carries years of hard work, research and collaboration. Her work on Pushpa 2: The Rule earned her the National Award for Best Costume Design, celebrating a visual journey that helped define one of Indian cinema’s most recognizable characters.

Speaking about the honour, Deepali described the achievement as a tribute to the collective effort behind the film rather than an individual accomplishment.

“This award belongs to the entire team”

Deepali said receiving the National Award is among the proudest moments of her career.

According to her, Pushpa was always envisioned as the story of an ordinary man whose appearance would evolve alongside his rise. That transformation became the foundation of her costume design process.

Rather than simply selecting clothes, she focused on understanding every aspect of the character’s life, including the local culture, climate, occupation, available fabrics and social environment.

She believes costumes should feel like a natural extension of a character instead of appearing as carefully styled outfits.

Extensive research shaped every costume

Deepali revealed that authenticity was central to the design philosophy of Pushpa.

The costumes underwent extensive fabric dyeing, texturing and ageing to make them appear naturally worn. Every detail, from the way a lungi was draped to the fit of a shirt or trousers, was designed to reflect Pushpa’s personality and journey.

As the protagonist’s life changes, his wardrobe gradually becomes more striking while remaining rooted in the realism of the character.

She also designed costumes for the film’s entire ensemble cast, ensuring every individual maintained a distinct identity while fitting seamlessly into the world of the story.

Managing thousands of costumes

One of the biggest production challenges involved maintaining continuity across a massive wardrobe department.

Action sequences, changing weather conditions and multiple shooting schedules required several versions of costumes for each character.

Deepali explained that coordinating thousands of costumes while preserving consistent colours, textures and continuity demanded careful planning and close teamwork throughout production.

Working with Sukumar meant embracing change

Having previously collaborated with director Sukumar, Deepali described the filmmaker as someone with exceptional creative clarity.

Although every costume is prepared according to the script, filmmaking often introduces unexpected changes, including new locations, revised scenes or fresh creative ideas during production.

Instead of resisting such changes, she views them as opportunities to improve the final result.

According to Deepali, some of the strongest costume ideas emerged spontaneously during filming.

Creative discussions, not disagreements

Deepali emphasized that collaboration across departments is essential to filmmaking.

She said conversations with Sukumar were never disagreements but creative exchanges focused on discovering what best served the story.

Whether discussing colours, styling or visual tone, every department worked toward enhancing the emotional impact of the film rather than defending individual preferences.

She praised Sukumar’s ability to communicate emotion visually and said contributing to that vision made the collaboration especially rewarding.

Pushpa’s evolution was the biggest challenge

While many costumes demanded attention, Deepali believes the most difficult task was designing Pushpa’s complete transformation throughout the two films.

The challenge was ensuring the character evolved naturally while preserving his authenticity at every stage.

At the same time, every supporting character required a unique visual identity without appearing disconnected from the film’s overall aesthetic.

Balancing individuality with consistency became one of the defining creative challenges of the project.

Design is a form of identity

For Deepali, costume design extends beyond fashion.

She describes design as an expression of personality, beliefs and identity.

According to her, clothing communicates who a person is long before they speak, making costume design an essential storytelling tool rather than simply a visual element.

Busy with two major pan-Indian films

Following her National Award recognition, Deepali is already working on two large-scale productions.

She is currently designing costumes for Dragon, directed by Prashanth Neel and starring Jr NTR, Anil Kapoor and Ashutosh Rana.

She is also part of Jai Hanuman, directed by Prasanth Varma, featuring Rishab Shetty, Akshaye Khanna and Rana Daggubati.

With both projects in production, the award-winning designer continues to shape the visual language of some of Indian cinema’s most anticipated films.