Designing films
SANGEETA
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Gokul Das feels viewers are yet to understand an art director's contribution to filmmaking.
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VISUAL ACUMEN: Gokul Das won the State film award for his work in `Tantra.'
We always think of movies as being directed, written or produced; we seldom think of them as being designed. Art directors or production designers - as they are referred to in Hollywood - are the ones who play an equally important role in a film's success.
They create a world in each film and are responsible for the look and feel of a film. They, however, play a mostly unrecognised role in cinema. Viewers pay little attention as to how or why a film gets an ambience, feels Gokul Das, the State Film Award winner for Best Art Director 2006.
"I won the award for `Tantra,' which was a small film. Small not in terms of concept, imagination or scale, but in terms of finance. The theme demanded a surrealistic design to set the mood of ancient Tantric practices and black magic. Earthy colours were used.
"Since Kerala has a very rich cultural lineage, I didn't have to go elsewhere for references. I traced it from kolam, kalam, theyyam and so on."
Gokuldas was also the art director of the recent super hits `Classmates' and `Keerthi Chakra.'
Sets of `Keerthi Chakra'
`"Keerthi Chakra' was a different experience. Kashmir was a beautiful but unfamiliar milieu. We could not collect properties since the film was set against a military background. The blast scenes and the encounter sequences (in the climax) that were shot indoors were very challenging.
"The task in `Classmates' was to create the campus mood of the early 90s. We worked out the visual details carefully - the posters that were shown during the election campaign in the film dealt with the issues of those times. Thanks to the efforts of director Lal Jose and cinematographer Rajiv Ravi, we were able to get the right colour consistency and maintain the vibrancy of the shots for `Classmates."'
The team work of the director, designer and cinematographer is central to the artistic organisation of a film, points out Gokul.
"Art direction is not about properties and background design. It is about the visual treatment of the film. It is about adding colour and texture to the director's vision. It is easy if the director has an artistic orientation. For instance, the late Bharathan was an exceptional artist, painter and sculptor. He used to sketch his scenes along with the screenplay. His films had a classic approach to scenic design," feels Gokul.
Gokul Das, a graduate of the Institute of Fine Arts, Thrissur, started working in films with Pavithran's `Kuttapan Sakshi.'
"Premji was the art director of the film and I worked as his associate. Afterwards, I joined Sabu Cyril and worked with him for two years in films such as `Kannathil Muthamittal' and `Laysa Laysa.' I also worked with Sunil Babu in `Lakshya' and `In the Name of Budha.'"
Gokul's first venture was Sarath's `Sayahnam,' for which he got the Kerala State Award in 2000.
"The award led to some introspection and I realised that I had to learn more. In fact, I decided to assist Sabu Cyril and Sunil Babu after that. Films such as `Pulijanmam' demanded a realistic tone, whereas `Anjil Oral Arjunan' needed a dose of exaggeration in the sets and tone of the film," explains Gokul.
Forthcoming films
Gokul's forthcoming films include Uday Ananthan's `Pranayakalam,' Mohan's `Katha Parayumbol' and Lal Jose's `Mulla.'
"Mohan, a long-term associate of Sathyan Anthikad, is making a film based on Srinivasan's script. Mammooty plays the lead. Lal Jose's film should be on by July," says Gokul.
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