Welcome to my home page. As a film professional with 35 years of experience in designing and creating movie sets for the Indian film industry, I have had the opportunity to work for some of the best production houses and film makers. I have created sets for all kinds of plots - be they historical and period films, contemporary dramas, adventure-thrillers or just plain old pot-boilers.
![[On the sets of Purab & Paschim with Manoj Kumar]](./media/purabpaschim.jpg)
The
village `nautanki' (or the stage where village performances are held) that
I created for the National Award winning Teesri Kasam was one of
the early milestones in my career. For Yash Chopra's blockbuster Deewaar,
I put up a set of a bridge inside a Bombay studio. And I am proud to say
that legendary director Satyajit Ray congratulated me for my effort! A
fortress-palace for Manoj Kumar's Kranti; the recreation of a London
night-club in a studio in Bombay for Purab aur Paschim, the Death
Row of Yeravada Jail for Khan Dost are only some of the many sets
that I have designed.
Sometimes, one has to improvise with whatever material is available. And given the chaotic circumstances in which Hindi films are shot, deadlines are as tight as the producer's purse strings. Sometimes, it can be frustrating and at other times it leads to hilarious situations and innovative solutions that often work well. For instance, for Purab aur Paschim, we had to shoot a tense fight sequence on snow-capped mountains. The amazing part was that director Manoj Kumar wanted to shoot the sequence in a stiflingly hot Bombay studio in the middle of summer! I was called on to create the ambience. So we went to work. For snowflakes, we made do with truckloads of common salt! However, we couldn't do much about the heat! Luckily for us, the audience never caught on.
Movie sets are supposed to have a life only on celluloid, right? Sometimes, make-believe has a habit of spilling over into the real world in strange ways. For director Dulal Guha's Aanchal, I had created a temple on the banks of a river near a small town in India, Nashik. As the shooting progressed, the local people started visiting the temple and offering prayers and flowers to the Plaster-of-Paris idol of Lord Shiva. After the shooting was completed, when our boys got ready to dismantle the set, there was a howl of protest from devotees. For by then, the set had acquired a life of its own: the transformation from a make-believe to a real-world temple had happened without our knowledge.
The Indian film industry is a testing ground for every technician. And despite the less-than-perfect conditions and the total chaos that prevails on most movie sets, Indian filmmakers have made great cinema. Indeed, despite its drawbacks, Hindi moviedom spurs creativity and innovation in a manner that defies logic. And, these are the skills that are sought after by movie-makers worldwide. When renowned director David Lean was planning to shoot in India for his film The Wind Cannot Read, I felt most privileged to be working with him as the co-art-director for the film. It was my first brush with a Hollywood production and also a dream opportunity to work with one of the great masters of filmmaking. Though, he did shoot in India and completed one schedule, David Lean later opted out of the film which was completed by director Ralph Thomas.
![{At the sets of Ajooba with Russian Director]](./media/ajooba.jpg)
After
that, I started getting offers from other foreign productions. During the
35-odd years of my film career, I have had the opportunity to team up with
American, British, Japanese and Russian filmmakers. For Shashi Kapoor's
Indo-Soviet venture (Ajooba in Hindi and The Black Prince
in Russian), we shot extensively in India and the Yalta region in Russia
to film this fantasy-adventure. In the Eighties - when special effects
were still an unknown commodity in the Hindi film industry - I had
the chance to work with a Japanese team for my directorial venture, Aatank.
Working at the high-tech Toyo Studio in Japan, we created a 30-foot monster
shark. It took us an army of interpreters and several months to complete
the shooting schedule, but as an experience, it was simply out of the world.
Among the other international projects that I have been associated with as co-art-director are:
Kim
Produced by UK-based London Films International, the three-hour television series was based on a story by Rudyard Kipling. Starring Peter O' Toole (in the role of a Lama), it was directed by John Howard Davies. Set in 1857, Kim is the story of a White boy who lives in British India and has a series of adventures with a Buddhist monk. Political intrigue is as much a part of the story as is the discovery of eastern philosophies. And the broad canvas - ranging from the hills of Afghanistan to the Indian plains - demanded sets and locations that recreated the exotic charm of British India. The bustees and the bazaars, the colonial houses, the fortresses and palaces...Kim was meant to appeal to British and American audiences with a liberal dash of exotica.
Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy
George Walker Television Productions Ltd's television series Lord Mountabatten: The Last Viceroy offered another kind of challenge: to recreate on camera recent history. When a movie is based on historical figures, and real-life incidents, authenticity is the key. In script writing as well as in art direction. For me, as co-art-director, the challenge was in recreating India of 1947. Riot scenes, political rallies, processions of nationalists, the recreation of recent Indian history was complete.
Queenie
![[At the sets of Queenie]](./media/queenie.jpg)
In 1987, a Hollywood team headed by producer John Cutts and director Larry
Peerce came to India to film Queenie, the rags-to-riches story of a Eurasian
girl (played by Mia Sara) born and bred in a Calcutta slum, and her transformation
into one of the screen goddesses of Hollywood. For two whole months, the
film crew was stationed at the plush Hotel Rambagh Palace in Jaipur. Part
of its grounds became the location for a down-and-out Calcutta street -
complete with graffiti in Bengali. The old Jaipur airport was transformed
into Delhi Airport. The rags-to-riches story of Queenie made for some spectacular
sets.
Art Direction Ventures:
A Listing of some of the films that I have production-designed/art directed.. There are plenty others that even I have forgotten about!
- Deewaar (director: Yash Chopra)
- Kabhi-Kabhie (director: Yash Chopra)
- Kranti (director: Manoj Kumar)
- Purab aur Paschim (director: Manoj Kumar)
- Roti Kapda Aur Makaan (director: Manoj Kumar)
- Shor (director: Manoj Kumar)
- Teesri Kasam (director: Basu Bhattacharya)
- Meera (director: Gulzar)
- Anita (director: Raj Khosla)
- Mera Saaya (director: Raj Khosla)
- Chiraag (director: Raj Khosla)
- Bhai Ho To Aisa (director: Manmohan Desai)
- Dharti Kahe Pukaar Ke (director: Dulal Guha)
- Mere Humsafar (director: Dulal Guha)
- Aanchal (director: Dulal Guha)
- Dushman (director: Dulal Guha)
- Dost (director: Dulal Guha)
- Masoom (director: Satyen Bose)
- Ajooba (director: Shashi Kapoor)
- Jaanbaaz (director: Feroze Khan)
- Qurbani (director: Feroze Khan)
Directorial Ventures:
Imaan Dharam
Aatank
Desh Creative Solutions
We offer consultancy in art direction, location hunting, and sourcing technical staff for feature film/television series and documentary shoots in India..
Key responsibilities
- Conduct reconnaissance for location shooting
- Help source reliable and efficient workmen/technical crew for creating sets.
- Design sets that will be highlights of the film.
- Suggest the best and most cost-efficient options for shooting in India as per requirements of the script and the production's budget.