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Journalism of Courage
He raises cities out of nowhere and conjures up the past with the meticulousness of a historian. And if cinema peddles dreams, Nitin Chandrakant Desai, arguably the best art director in Bollywood today, gives it grit and glitz. From the sleepy hill station in 1942 A Love Story 1993 to the Tolstoy Farm in Gandhi My Father 2007, from the opulence of Devdas to the grimy streets of Traffic Signal 2007, Desai8217;s repertoire has been stunning.
A two-hour drive from Mumbai takes you to his latest creation, some say his best: the red sandstone marvel of Agra Fort built for Ashutosh Gowariker8217;s next film Jodhaa Akbar. The 1200 ft long and 660 ft high replica of the heritage monument in fibre-glass, concrete, iron and cement took five months to make. 8220;We built the fort, down to the last pillar, along with famous buildings like the Deewan-e-aam, Deewane-e-khas, Anguri bagh and Jodhaa bai8217;s palace,8221; says Desai.
This legendary obsession for authenticity also earned him a bagful of awards 8212; four National and Filmfare awards each and six Screen awards 8212; and the respect of demanding filmmakers like Gulzar, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Mansoor Khan, Ketan Mehta and Ashutosh Gowariker.
Desai has always been a trendsetter. When television period sets were all garish gilt and brassy costumes, his sets for the serial Chanakya 8212; his debut 8212; grabbed eyeballs with its starkness and that word again authenticity. Behind the mammoth period set dating to 320 BC were hours of dogged research at the Asiatic Library and Bombay University. Desai recalls how his constant presence at the library, even during lunch hour, for weeks at an end, made the university librarian put up a separate desk for him in the art and culture section.
The sets of Jodhaa Akbar promise to set another benchmark for the industry. 8220;A total of 368 workers worked 12 hours a day for nearly five months to build the fort,8221; says Desai. The replica was designed after a painstaking study of the original edifice by a team of 21 members led by Desai. Even the last miniature painting was recreated. The end result has the industry drawing parallels with K. Asif8217;s magnum opus Mughal-e-Azam. 8220;After Josh, I thought Nitinji8217;s creations could never get bigger or better. But he has proved me wrong with every project. Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam was bigger than Josh, Devdas was bigger than Hum Dil8230; Jodhaa Akbar is his biggest creation till date. I don8217;t have a superlative worthy of its magnificence.8221;
For Desai, however, creating a modern setting holds as much challenge as a period piece. 8220;Viewers will be more adept at pointing minor flaws in a contemporary setting than a period set.8221; By that count, Traffic Signal was a success 8212; Madhur Bhandarkar still gets incredulous looks when he tells people that every bit of the film on Mumbai street-life was shot on sets and not in the city.
Desai is also part of the new breed of Bollywood artists pushing the industry towards international standards. 8220;When Oliver Stone came hunting for locales for Alexander in 2004, he was disgusted. About the Mumbai studios, he said, 8216;These aren8217;t studios, they are barracks.8217; Eventually, he shot the film8217;s Indian portions abroad and we lost out,8221; rues Desai.
That experience egged him to make ND Studio, where 8220;a filmmaker can just come with his crew and script and leave with a film.8221; Case in point is Traffic Signal. Ninety per cent of the film was shot and completed in the studio in Karjat in just 36 days. 8220;We recreated every bit of the bustle around a Mumbai traffic signal with its shops, pavements, vehicles and even got a double-decker BEST bus from Mumbai.8221; The much-appreciated Nike ad of cricket fans playing atop buses on a crowded street was also shot there.
Desai8217;s dream project, however, is the next phase of ND Studio, which he aims to complete by 2010. 8220;It8217;s a futuristic studio, worth Rs 1,200 crore, made keeping in mind production needs 10 years hence. It will be one of the world8217;s largest studios spread over 650 acres nearly thrice the size of Filmcity. We8217;ll have permanent replicas of the seven wonders of the world,8221; he says. His other dream: giving shape to Shah Jahan8217;s unfinished vision. 8220;In the studio, we also plan to create a black Taj Mahal, which Shah Jahan intended to start but could never attempt in his lifetime.8221; And you bet he8217;ll get the details right.
8211; Piyus Roy
