Remember the last time you wrote a letter? Pressed the nib of your pen so meticulously on a postcard and signed off ‘with love’? Or even a time you stood near the postbox with a crisp envelope, and imagined your letter reaching your loved one’s doorstep?
It was not too long ago, a huge bundle of letters was discovered at Sreejith’s hometown. That led to the masterful interpretations of what our stylist was neatly ironing for Rima’s shoot. On the rack, I spotted a chequered trapeze dress that had postage stamps and on a ruffled cotton coat were gilded embroidered postcards. A calligraphic ‘love’ was inscribed till the end of the pallu of a decadent black saree with a blouse that had me fall in line with its vintage military buttons. Sreejith’s collection, Write to Me, was composed in a calm harmony of cream tones that evoked stories into their own proceedings. His stories were tailored in crisp lines and the designs were punctuated with nostalgic hues of the ruby reds,the familiar golden kara, and handwritten letters away from the machinations of typed words. “I spotted letters that dated back to the sixties. letters that were written to my grandmother.”Sreejith narrated. ‘Write to Me’ instilled an idea for his first saree, yet another fresh memory to add to his memory trove. I wasn’t sure what instigated an insatiable longing in the abyss of our minds. Perhaps it’s sublime and yet a surreal enigma that this time the designer, the muse, the photographer and the writer knew only their pasts would tell them a story.

Rima as Ritu

Remembering Rima, I was just a teenager when I watched Ritu – her first film. There was an odd fascination about how she was never an ingénue. I always felt that she had an aura about evolving beyond the saccharine characters that Malayalam cinema abide to portray. She mentioned, “I remember while shooting the climax for Ritu, Shyam Prasad said, ‘Rima be powerful when you deliver the dialogues’. I was surprised, I thought beginners were usually dubbed, and I had quite a husky voice, but he believed in me.” Her stellar performance in 22 Female Kottayam became an ‘influential’ character. She soon became an actress who was known for voicing her opinions, as she just commented about the FTTI protest. She’s fierce and steadfast in accepting who she is. “We are so different; it will be unfair to think that everyone there will understand my perspective. I am not disappointed by that fact. But when I look at society as a whole, I wish people would be more sensitive and respectful.”

As the car stopped at Pepper house, we went to the hall to check out the collection. She met Subhash; they broke into a hug. It took her back to her first shoot, it was with him. “After my win at Miss Kerala, I had this outlandish haute couture shoot with Subhash. From sitting on cycle to wearing a crazy skirt in front of a tea stall. It was so carefree, and he made sure that he made us do something unconventional.” After five years they catch up for their next shoot, and the rapport hasn’t changed a tad. Subhash enjoyed the little surprise with her haircut – a bob cut styled in burgundy ombre. He quickly remarked, “ She’s got the spark of Indira Gandhi.” Leading to little changes in his plans, he never took it as an ‘emergency situation’, in fact, he took off with an intuition and new sketches spontaneously combusted in his mind. Rima’s make- up artist, Anez asked, “Would you like her to put hair extensions.” Subhash said, “No just the way she is.”

Breakfast at Pepper House

Before the shoot started, we settled for an early breakfast. Rima ordered Bombay toast whilst Subhash was busily sketching way. Rima and I finally got into a conversation – an inside joke that it was a very clandestine interview. We looked at the nonherd mentality room- the library. What if Jane Austen dined with us, and she actually gave a lecture on misconstrued feminism? Rima quickly quipped, “Many people think it’s about women having superiority. I just don’t understand, feminism is about promoting equality, but the sad truth is that women are not even considered to be an equal.” Moving to Jane Austen’s lust for libraries, I was always curious to know how hers was. She laughed,” You should have come home and seen it. I always love shopping for books when I go travelling. “ I then asked her whether she shares her books with Aashiq. She looked at me,” Oh never, in fact, he rarely reads. He’s the type who looks around for inspiration, not from books and other movies.” A book that took her to Neverland? She did claim that she went into a hibernation mode during college, after her childhood of turning pages to the classics of Enid Blyton, Nancy Drews. Her wake-up call was when Five Point Someone was gifted by her close friend. “But now Chetan Bhagat is a little mushy.” But when she reads, she’s engrossed, and she lands in ‘two states’.

Shedding some Light

Subhash and I commented on the herbs that sprung out of the bharanis. Fresh like the herbs were his sketches. He took some time to admire the effortless architecture detailing. Then he sketched a cartoon of Rima seated against the window sill on a wall carpeted with creepers. A particular fascination towards the old-fashioned windows, Subhash said that it reminded him of his school days, whilst the decrepit clay walls reminded him of his Illam at his hometown. Exploring the eras through the architecture, our eyes panned over an arch. It led us to look into the sea through a rustic ajar door. He said, “That’s definitely a frame.” While Rima climbed her way to the dark lit hall, I looked through the window to see a huge sized reflector propped on the lawn meters away. The camera assistants were cleverly balanced on the tiled roof, adjusting the lights- the shot, precisely planned. “Subhash always knows his angles and how he wants his photos, ”Rima said. Going back to the earlier days of her shoot, she did mention that at her first shoot, she was cautious because she was a dancer and stage performer. She hoped she never over performed. But Subhash looked back, “Rima was a natural, and she always took directions well.” This shoot was different, he wanted to interpret the old times with Rima’s body language. As she sat on the solid wooden floor, her face was natural, unlike a polished primadonna. It was a photo that took him to the past’s simplicity in the days of yore.

Shoot and Transform

As the shoot progressed, Rima’s personality transformed through different silhouettes and the way she emoted. It started with a demure Rima in a chequered dress that ballooned out below her a waist. Then a fierce and bold Rima when she wore a button tie up blouse with a figure hugging saree paired with cigarette pants. I was certain, she could pull off anything. I have always wondered with her synergy between the ability to emote and interpret life, could she conquer the world? She broke into a laugh, “ At the dance company I worked in Bangalore, I used to take two buses and hour to reach while in the evening it took two to three hours.
My parents hoped I would quit and settle for an engineering or an MBA degree but they understood after a while. It’s not easy being an artist but we do have a vantage point.” It’s only some weeks ago her dance school, Mamangam, celebrated its anniversary. The shoot finally wound up; she kicked off her Jimmy Choos( her first one that she purchased from Europe five years ago, it almost called off her wedding she joked.) She ran to Sreejith, “This saree would look lovely for the Lakme Fashion Week.” Sreejith broke into a warm smile. Discerning my anticipatable face, she asked, “ You have a question don’t you?”

“When was the last time you wrote a letter? Rima smiled,” When I was in fourth grade, I wrote it to my close friend Parvathy. Although I did write one to my father recently but not a posted one.” Subhash Maheswar, laughed in between, he claimed that he’s never written a letter but if he did, it will be worthwhile. It’s going to be to Narendra Modi. And who would Rima send it to? With a hint of mystery, she said, “ Well you have to wait to know that.” Until then, until when, in another time.
Photos: Subhash Maheswar, Stylist: Sreejith Jeevan, Assistant Stylist: Lakshmi Babu, Hair and Make up: Anez Anzare Location Courtesy: Pepper House, Fort Kochi, Special Thanks: Rouka