Dressing the divine: A dialogue on Indian screen costume design

This dialogue with Nidhi Yasha, a distinguished costume designer in India’s screen media industries, illuminates her creative process in crafting costumes for mythological and historical productions. Yasha’s two-decade career encompasses landmark contributions to the field, including work on the epic television drama Mahabharat (2013–14), the lavishly produced Buddha: King of Kings (2013), China’s official Oscar entry Xuanzang (2016) and the blockbuster Bollywood film Gadar 2 (2023). The conversation traces her remarkable journey from a small town in Bihar to Beijing’s international fashion scene and ultimately to Mumbai’s Hindi-language screen media industry. Through Yasha’s experiences, the dialogue examines critical dimensions of the field of costume design in India, including its labour practices, gender dynamics, technological transformations and audience imaginaries.