Do you want to know the locations of the beautiful Mughal palaces in Jodhaa Akbar? Ask the art director, says V. Kumara swamy

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Dramatic impact: The sets designed by Nissar Allana for the plays Begum Bharve (top) and Erendira

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How can film-makers today afford to dream big and give us the likes of a Jodhaa Akbar, Guru, and Om Shanti Om? Well, they turn to the only one who can make their dreams materialise — the art director. He’s the man who creates movie sets. Be it 17th century Mughal palaces or street scenes of Mumbai in the 1950s, an art director’s job is to create sets that look as authentic as can be.

One man who knows how to fool the eye is Samir Chanda. “Today art directors are considered so important that directors sit with us and discuss scenes threadbare even before a single scene is shot,” says Chanda who has designed sets for Guru, Rang De Basanti, Krrish and Omkara. “When I started in the early Eighties, things were different. Directors almost directed us on the look of the film,” he says.

Art directors are now indispensable not just in films but also in television, theatre and advertising. Called set designers, production designers or simply designers, they give us what we see.

“Imaginative designers can go a long way because directors are looking for innovative work and they are now able to see how design plays an important role in the overall ‘look’ of a TV programme, a film or theatre,” says Nissar Allana, a legendary set designer and director of the Dramatic Art and Design Academy (DADA), Delhi.

“A set designer is one who has a thorough understanding of space, form and structure, composition, perspective, visual storyboard, design layout and lighting schemes,” says P.J. Joseph, director of Chitrabani, a film institute in Calcutta.

Directors of plays want elaborate sets too. “When I started as a set designer in 1971, there were hardly any designers in theatre. Sets were mostly designed by theatre directors in a somewhat simplistic manner. There were very small budgets for set design, if at all, and payment to designers was inconsequential. There were hardly any opportunities in television too at that time. Now things have changed,” says Allana.

A fresher often has to work as an assistant to an established designer and may earn under Rs 10,000 initially. However, somebody with a specialisation in set design is likely to move up the ladder faster. Films, television and event management companies pay quite a bit more than theatre productions.

Visual basics:

One can get into a key position quite quickly, because there are not too many trained people,” says Allana. Vikram Varma, an art director who works for ad films and television, agrees. “It took me two years to establish myself after I passed out from the Film & Television Institute of India (FTII),” he says. FTII has a two-year postgraduate diploma in art direction.

Not many are trained specifically in set design. So it is a big advantage if you are. “I would advise youngsters to get a sound grounding in production design before they enter the field,” says Chanda.

“A set designer should first be a brilliant draftsman and an architect,” says Ashok Sagar Bhagat, professor, theatre architecture, National School of Drama (NSD), Delhi.

Bhagat believes that set design students need to brush up on how to bring visions to life. “They need to update themselves and learn to use the latest technology,” he says. Although NSD does not have a specialised course in set designing, it is one of the main components of its three-year diploma in dramatic arts.

“It really helps to have a creative background. People with such backgrounds can understand the concepts clearly,” says Amardeep Behl, head of Design Habit, a design house in Delhi which does spatial design for museums, exhibitions and production design for films and heritage projects. When asked what salaries are like, he says, “Once you establish yourself, people will be ready to pay you handsomely.”

In television production companies and ad agencies, someone with two or three years of experience can earn anywhere between Rs 50,000 and Rs 5 lakh depending on one’s talent and demand in the market.

“I would like to pursue set designing. More than the money, I will be happy doing something that gives me satisfaction,” says Vijay Shekar, a student of film production at the Centre for Research in Art of Film and Television (CRAFT), Delhi.

“An art director gets more recognition than a cinematographer. FTII recognised this and introduced a specialised course. There are few institutes that offer such courses, but seeing our students’ success many more are entering the field now,” says Satish Kumar, lecturer, FTII.

Some film institutes teach set designing as part of their film production courses such as the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute in Calcutta and the Asian Academy of Film and Television, Noida. The ZED Institute of Creative Arts, Hyderabad, offers a three-year diploma course while Chitrabani holds workshops for those who are skilled in illustration, photography and audio-visual media.

DADA’s one-year set design diploma and the intensive four-year graduate level course offered at the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, cover almost all aspects, including communication design and industrial design. The fee at both NID and FTII is around Rs 60,000 a year. DADA charges about Rs 40,000 for the one-year course.

Finally, it is up to the designer to choose who gets his designs. “Find your niche and stick to it. You will be recognised for what you can offer. Visualisation has no boundaries,” says Joseph.

Sources: The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)