Ash, Abhishek and Mallika all have arresting makeovers in Mani Ratnam's next, Guru. Designer Nikhaar Dhawan who has created the same gives us the lowdown on each...

Abhishek Bachchan

When we were deciding Abhishek's look, I had to scratch my head real hard as the movie is based on the life of Guru and there a lot of changes that his character goes through. But once we got cracking it was very easy. We researched a lot on industrialists, politicians and other influential people in the 1950s. Abhishek dons a very different look when he is in the village and then when he moves to the city. His character is not based on Dhirubhai Ambani, but is a combination of several influential Gujarati businessmen. I've given him a variety of clothes – suits, dhotis, European suits, as the era and set-up changes.

Aishwarya Rai

This is basically a period film that spans over four decades so Ash's look evolves over time. In the beginning she plays Sujatha, a simple, carefree, innocent village girl who is not even aware of her beauty. We have given her the look of a Gujarati village girl 50 years back. Maniji basically likes everything to look as natural as possible, so we used a lot of vegetable colours and very little jewellery for Aishwarya's look. I roamed the streets of chor bazaar to find some interesting old embellishments and very old patches to stitch on to her clothes as rural costumes are often derived from bits of cloth stitched together. It is very typical for Kutchi girls to wear blouses with open backs and their abs showing in those days. So in the song 'Barso re', Aishwarya is wearing something quite sensuous. Basically, the costume speaks for the character.

Mallika Sherawat

In Guru, Mallika plays a dancer from abroad. Her character is someone who is friendly but knows her weapons and uses them well. She has a small but influential role. I've gone through several fashion magazines and books to know the fashion trends of Europe in the 1950s. I even went through Satyajit Ray's films and family albums to see how people dressed then. She has a hot, sexy look in the movie. Her clothes accentuated her appeal and it's a different role and look from what she's done so far. She's worn lacy dresses like Marilyn Monroe did.