Jyoti Madnani Singh designs costumes for the play based on the life of Padma Shri Dr Mukesh Batra

Bollywood’s renowned costume designer ‘Jyoti Madnani Singh’ recently designed the costumes for ‘Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai’, the theatrical adaptation of Dr Mukesh Batra's autobiography, ‘The Nation's Homeopath’. Sharing her experiences of working in this play, Jyoti told that the story of the play begins during the Second World War and ends in the present time, and she has attempted to catch a time span of seventy years through her costume designing and styling skills. 

Jyoti sharing her set of challenges while working on the play said, “The play is humongous and has more than 25 actors. To add to it, in a play, an actor can switch and portray as many roles by merely changing the attire and twitching slightly with the looks. In such a situation, I have lost on the count of sets of clothes-footwears and accessories I did design.” Jyoti elaborated and said, “I mixed-match all of them to create a variation in terms of looks as the budgets and resources in theatre productions are limited.” Jyoti sharing her fears said, “My heart was fluttering as the play is a real representation of the life of Dr Mukesh Batra and I was told that he would be sitting in the audience for the premier show. I knew this was something close to the heart of Dr. Batra and there wasn’t scope of error for me.” 

Detailing the special preparations that went into the play, Jyoti said, “I am very thankful to Dr Batra, who on my request shared his maternal grandfather, parents, his wife and his childhood photographs from his family album. It made my work easier as I just had to ape them. Then the director of the play ‘Mr. Om Katare’ also supported me a lot by accompanying me in sourcing fabric. His presence boosted my confidence and the rest is history as everyone who saw the play appreciated the costumes and styling.” 

Appreciating Jyoti's work, Dr Mukesh Batra said, “To be honest at first instance I was sceptical about Jyoti’s dedication and intensity because people of Bollywood generally don’t invest much time in theatre productions because of the budget constraints but Jyoti has done an amazing work in a limited budget and resources. Be it the clothes of the fifties or the seventies, they all speak for themselves in the play.”

The director of the play Om Katare praised Jyoti and said, “Jyoti is associated with me since 2009. She designed the costume for my play 'Raavan Leela'. I liked her work so much that no matter how busy she is with the films, I always call her for costume designing work in my new plays and she unquestionably makes it. That is the beautiful work relationship we have developed in these many years.”

On being asked if she enjoys working in films or theatre, Jyoti said, “Both have their own beauty and both have their set of challenges but in theatre the instant feedback you get from the audience and that too conveyed by them immediately after the show is the most organic and satisfying experience as an artist. I just cherish that whole experience and process.” 

The play 'Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai' has been staged in Mumbai and Delhi at present and will be staged in other cities of India including Pune, Hyderabad in the coming days.

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