Padmashree Thota Tharrani

Thota Tharrani is one of the most creative people of our times. Be it the creation of a realistic set of the Dharavi Slums or the colourful transparent bus of Kaadhalan, Tharrani succeeds in creating the right ambience and the right tone.

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Nitish Roy

Over the last few decades India has gradually seen the emergence of a contemporary Architectural Culture of exceptional caliber. Unfortunately outside the sub-continent much of the major works remain unknown and the names of the practitioners unfamiliar.

Overcoming the drawbacks of working in a third world country and the socio-economic realities of the Indian society, Nitish Roy dares to dream and explore designs and dimensions. He feels it is his privilege to work in India and is convinced we compare with the finest work being produced elsewhere.

A graduate of the Government Art College, Kolkatta. He began his career as a commercial artist in an advertising agency, and would design interiors for friends and acquaintances as well. His designs for exhibition pavilions fetched him appreciation and prizes too. The hunger to do more creative work and the enthusiasm to break away from the traditional and conventional designs took him to film set designing, where he explored new dimensions, experimented with colours, shapes and various forms and became a trend setter and established himself as a leading art director and production designer and trained several present day art directors.

Film Art direction enabled him to perfect his skills in realistic recreation. He is the recipient of the National Award 3 times for the films:

Nitin Desai

Twenty years in the Bollywood industry and art director Nitin Chandrakant Desai is still gung ho about his projects. The art director is all set to design for a Micheal Douglas film now. What is interesting is that Nitin Desai is all set to put a set of an antique train, “Yes this is my first Hollywood venture” reveals Nitin Desai. “I am putting up the set of a Palace on Wheels at my N.D. Studios. The set will be put up in October after I complete my Bollywood assignments” he says.
Nitin Desai says that finally Indian technicians are gaining foothold in Global cinema. “Over all we are making quality films which are being recognized now. With the corporate houses taking over it has brought in major change in Bollywood now. It has got a platform in global cinema. I see a lot of young art directors making their foray into cinema now. They are becoming aware of the potentials it has. As for me I would always love to be an art director. It gives me creative satisfaction. I often build my dreams through my sets” he informs.
At the same time Nitin Desai has also been praised for his work on Slumdog Millionaire. “I feel good. I remember Danny came to meet me for the sets when I was working on Kaun Banega Crorepati with Shah Rukh Khan. I was the first director to create a hydraulic set. He said he wanted a similar set for his film. He also asked me to create the interiors of the Taj Mahal set” says the director.
At the same time Nitin Desai is working on a great number of films “right now I am busy with Ashutosh Gowarikar’s What’s your Raashee, Feroz Abbas Khan’s Dekh Tamasha Dekh, Vipul Shah’s Action Replay, Madhur Bhandarkar’s Jail, Ketan Mehta’s Rang Rasiya and Amol Gupte’s next. I have a lot of Television shows and reality shows on hand too and that has kept me very busy” reveals the director.

The art director has now signed his next him with a French director. “I have yet to receive the script so can’t reveal the details” he says. The director says that sets which reveal Indian art and culture gives him immense satisfaction. “I love to working on films which have Indian art and culture. Working with directors like Ashutosh Gowarikar and Sanjay Leela Bhansali gives me creative freedom as their films have so much of our culture. I am also handling the sets of Marathi serial Raja Shiva Chhatrapati” he concludes.

Art Director

Various artists may create or develop specific parts of an art piece or scene; but a sole art director unifies the vision. In particular, the art director is in charge of the overall visual appearance and how it communicates visually, stimulates moods, contrasts features, and psychologically appeals to a target audience. The art director makes decisions about visual elements used, what artistic style to use, and When to use Motion:

One of the most difficult problems that art directors face is to translate desired moods, messages, concepts, and underdeveloped ideas into imagery. During the brainstorming process, art directors, coworkers, and clients are engaged in imagining what the finished piece or scene might look like. At times, an art director is ultimately responsible for solidifying the vision of the collective imagination while resolving conflicting agendas and inconsistencies between the various individual inputs.