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Exclusive : No to a mundane life

Y.Sunita Chowdhary

Art Director Purushottam Prem (Thank You Brother fame) lives in Chennai and travels to Hyderabad for shoot. he has learnt film making in Chennai and has been there for the past 20 years. He is basically from Adoni in Kurnool. Purushottam does have a family that is connected to cinema, his mother is a theatre artiste and an actress and his uncle Ramchandra Singh is an art director. Ask him why he chose art direction as his career he says he wanted to be in a profession that has something new to offer every day.”The field should be intriguing and interesting and I should be learning something new every day. Cinema takes me to places, reach new people, cultures and tastes. There is much knowledge sharing and I can develop from it. Though we speak Hindi at home, I picked up Telugu fluently because of my growing years in Andhra.”Production Designer Purushottam

Purushottam worked in Nakshatram directed by Krishna Vamsi. His curiosity took him to different places and he learnt five languages and worked in many regional language movies. The most popular one was, “The man who knew infinity’.He had stints in Gujarati, Telugu, Bollywood and Hollywood cinema as well. He is truly lucky enough to integrate into all types of styles and patterns of film making. He further said I was doing ad films initially in Mumbai as a production designer and an art director. As an associate I worked with Rajeevan and with my guru Ramachandar Singh, I was an associate for 20 to 25 films. I had worked independently for nine films, many ad films which must be around 300 plus. I learnt more on cinema as a camera assistant in Ravi Prasad unit. I learnt their aesthetics, approach to cinema, lighting sense, lensing and filters. I worked almost two and a half years with a camera and when I wasn’t busy I would assist my uncle. Over a period of time, I did ad films and then Rajeevan wanted me for Kaka Kaka. I began learning work from him, and did cross over films. I worked for Annapurna Studios for Ranguala Ratnam.”Art Director Purushottam Prem

Purushottam is in the news now for his spectacular work in Thank You Brother. He not only created a silicone baby but also an ‘elevator set’ which had become a seamless part of ‘Thank You Brother’. The technician is getting encomiums for the same. Mention that, the charming and friendly Purushottam prefers to talk of the beautiful message his director has imparted through the film. He says in all humility, “It is so well thought and sensible. Place yourself in a situation when a woman is in trouble and think how you’d react. I love the message which is ‘Thank You Brother’. After the film, we all told each other thank you brother.It was a beautiful moment and we worked with beautiful people.” The art department created a lift based on the mood of the script. The team was shooting at the lockdown time and it was a new pattern of work for them with limited crew and sanitising, sterilising. That shot up the budget but they got to ensure the safety of every technician. Purushottam says, “According to the story, the light should change with the script and in confined space. We had erected the set and we created a lift moving shaft, another entry moment and exit time plus corridors. Dissection was made in parts and we used the mood and lighting pattern shift necessary for the story. Also ensured that the costume colors were coordinated and planned and production took place in confined space. We chose ACP sheets where bending was possible without a line groove. The finish and the quality was spick and span. We used three grades of glossiness for the lift. When we light up the space, it shouldn’t reflect on the lens. I had to cut down the reflection so choice of material was important. A drone was used to reveal the hero’s face from the shaft. Those were the challenges we had. We planned the lift scene, not in a studio but a banquet where it was much cleaner and sterilised. It helped us to have control in the lockdown. It is a static set..where everything has to function. For the lift panel with buttons, we had created a separate board and had hydraulic sets for the doors to close and open. We had runners basically.”Art Director Purushottam

What gives Purushottam a high? He says, “Making the people believe that the unreal is real. When people come and touch my sets, I like to see the surprise in their eyes. I meet various artists, interesting people like sculptors, painters, background artists who are not highlighted in general but are brilliant. I don’t like to say no to whatever challenge is thrown at me. As production designer, we bring the aesthetic necessary for the script, the background selection, and we work with the budget allocated to us and aim for natural lights for the camera man, we design the location and color palette and costume coordination. I can’t design nature, so we have to get the best moment, frame. During the making of Manam, we got to shoot during the magical hours. It varies based on the mood and we are lucky enough to travel many places and explore new things. If I had an IT or a regular lifestyle I would have missed all this. I must have seen most of India and a few countries.”Art Director Purushottam Prem Thank You Brother fame

Is Purushottam good at multitasking? What is his take on the transformation? He shares, “I like to sit next to the monitor and watch the film, and I can’t do more than two films. If the production designer is the brain, the rest of the structure is filled up with many skilled craftsmen. These days we don’t do sketching. I did a diploma in interior designing and that was a time when many softwares came in and the 3 D model was generated on the computer that rendered many angles. It will be useful to the lighting. It helps a lot, saves time and many big directors can use this and send it to their teams. Cinema will give you an opportunity to see all the 24 crafts but we work within deadlines and under pressure. Pressure is part of the job and it involves combinations of artists, deadlines of release dates..sometimes it builds pressure as the size of set is big, props are more, we have to work in rain effect. Different teams work at the same time in a synchronised way. Cinema world is different from the regular world. We now have a generation watching OTT. I have seen the cassette to cloud space transformation and analogue-digital. As the transformation is happening, we have to catch the bus. While working, updating is difficult. Online, we have youtube and e learning can happen through practise and some software. Weekends, we hire people and learn on the sets. Online tutorials are on demand and if we get one hour gap outdoors, we use the time effectively and cover the gap.”Art Director Purushottam Prem Images

Finally we ask Purushottam about his dream home and he is ready with an answer. He had planned this long back. The technician wants to retire as a farmer.In another ten years he wants to design his farm with permaculture. He elaborates, “I want to use material available from that space meant for construction. I am an earthy and a nature centric personality. I like Manduva houses and there is a lot of science in it. I like the archaic style and also love to retain the contemporary comforts. Laurie Baker is my favourite architect and I follow his brick designs of traditional homes with modern touch. I like my feet to be hooked to the ground yet I want to reach out to the sky.” He signs off stressing that there are so many production designers, technicians and everyone wants to work in a film that is appreciated by people and also a hit at the box office. There is joy in what we do on a day basis. The work decides if we are big or small not the other way round. It doesn’t matter if the set is big or small but how you deliver, how beautiful you have done matters.”

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