Making way in west challenging, but not due to nationality: Costume designer

Costume designer Sonu Mishra, who has been part of the foreign entertainment industry since 1989, says there were some hiccups in her career due to "uncertainties of the business", and not because of her "nationality or background".

"They were challenges that any young person would face regardless of their nationality or background -- starting out in a new business, finding one's space, meeting the people who match your needs... continuing on the path and finding a way to deal with the uncertainties that come with the nature of this business," Mishra told IANS by an email from Rome.

Mishra graduated in fashion design from Sophia College, Mumbai. She moved to New York as 19-year-old in 1989 to work in the wardrobe department at the Roundabout Theatre Company on Broadway and at Odds Costume Rentals.

After that stint, she moved to Rome where she has emerged as a successful costume designer for major television and movie productions, both Italian and international.

She has worked on major US productions such as Martin Scorsese's "Gangs of New York" and Renny Harlin's "The Legend of Hercules", Oscar-winning director Ron Howard's "Genius", apart from the TV mini-series "Prison Break" season five -- which airs in India on Star World and Star World HD.

Mishra says she has experienced "the fairness in the business".

"Perhaps not many Indians gravitated towards the entertainment business previously on international projects. That is changing now a bit," she added.

She points out that visibility of Indian talent has increased in the West.

Looking back on her journey, Mishra said: "I had studied fashion design but stumbled into the costume world. A friend I met while taking classes in New York asked me if I could sub for her on a Broadway show while she was away traveling."

"I fell in love with the theatre world and continued on that path. When I moved to Rome, I found out that there wasn't much theatre work but film was thriving. So, I went with the flow of things and started working on films and commercials."

At the moment, she is waiting for "the right project" to come her way.

--IANS

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