BT talks to art director Amrita Mahal Nakai about what went into the making of the period drama’s grand sets
Neha Maheshwri (BOMBAY TIMES; April 5, 2019)

The promos of Karan Johar’s upcoming magnum opus, Kalank — set in the pre-Independence era — has already created a buzz. Now, the grandeur of the film’s set is also becoming one of the talking points. BT caught up with art director Amrita Mahal Nakai, the woman behind the design of the majestic set, to know more about it.

Amrita credits director Abhishek Varman for giving specific instruction. She says, “We followed Abhishek’s vision and also, the script left no margin for error. We started working on the design around the end of 2016.”

Th in all its glory. Amrita shares, “Our set of Hira Mandi is a rather fantastical version of Lahore in the 1940s, though we have retained the essence of the city as it was back then.”

Amrita says, “We used a little bit of imagination and borrowed architecture from across the globe. Two designers — Anita Rajagopalan and Donald Reagan — were brought on board for this grand set as I was also working on another film at that time. Aparna Raina collaborated with me to design the set for the Chaudhry house and haveli.”

Talking about the colour palette used, she says, “We have shown restraint in the use of colours, so that it doesn’t look jarring. We have taken our liberties, but well within the canvas of the film. Red colour has been used extensively in Kalank. It’s a strong colour and is pretty much there in every frame of the film. We used various shades of it. Hira Mandi is the most vibrant of all the sets, so we used colours depicting the same.”

Talking about the nitty gritties of the project, Amrita specifically mentions the pond and its hues. She shares, “We had a large tank of water, and I was clear that I didn’t want the water to look blue. That’s not the look I had in mind, as I am not a fan of blue. Also, that was not a part of the palette. At the same time, I didn’t want any other dark colour either. Another huge challenge was to keep the water clean during the 45-day schedule of the shoot. We devised a method through which the water looked green and we all loved it.”

But doesn’t working on such a large scale come with its own challenges? “Totally,” agrees Amrita, adding, “To make Abhishek’s vision real was a challenge. In today’s day and age, people are hardly putting up grand sets. They rely more on VFX to make sets look grand, but we built a set to give it a more real look. Of course, the makers will be using visual effects to enhance scenes, but we have kept it as real as possible. This would probably be the largest set I have ever designed.”

However, after all the hurdles, Amrita looks satisfied with the outcome of her effort. “This is not one person’s effort; it requires an army of people to execute something as grand as this. Working with Binod sir (Pradhan, cinematographer), who makes the frame look 20 times better, was phenomenal. That kind of sums up my journey in the film.”

MUMBAI MIRROR (March 10, 2015)

Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 30, 2014)

Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; June 9, 2014)

In 1981, Rahul Rawail didn’t get credit for directing the film, Love Story, since he had a fall-out with its actor-turned-producer Rajendra Kumar. And now it looks like Rawail is out of the film, Love Story... Again, too. It turns out the filmmaker has opted out of directing Love Story Again; the film will now be directed by cinematographer Binod Pradhan.

Shashi Ranjan, Love Story... Again’s producer, says, “We parted ways due to creative differences. Now Binod Pradhan will be directing the film. Even the location of the film is no longer Fiji; we are now shooting in Mauritius. Our team, including Binod, is already there. I will be joining the team today.”

The film was supposed to go on the floors in May. There were also reports that Love Story... Again, and not Vikas Bahl’s Shaandar, was the industry’s first wedding destination film. Rahul Rawail says, “I am no longer part of the project due to certain creative differences. The 1981 film I left after I had finished shooting for it, but in this case, I have opted out before the film goes on the floors. I did work on the film’s pre-production though.”

BOMBAY TIMES (January 6, 2014)

Rahul Rawail, the filmmaker who gave envious breaks to Kumar Gaurav-Vijayeta Pandit (Love Story), Sunny Deol-Amrita Singh (Betaab) and made others like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (Aur Pyar Ho Gaya) and Kajol (Bekhudi) into household names, is about to venture onto his next film, Love Story... Again.

He has chosen the young, tall and attractive Anushka Ranjan as his leading lady. Rawail first spotted his heroine at The ITA School of Performing Arts, the Mumbai-based institute that trains newcomers in acting, singing and dancing. She had just completed a diploma there.

Says Rawail, “Anushka is just what I had in mind. She exudes confidence, is a trained Kathak dancer and was absolutely fantastic in the audition. Now I’m looking for a fresh male lead and another young couple.” He had earlier taken his talent hunt onto the social media.

The film is a romantic saga with a contemporary approach and shooting is scheduled this summer at an an exotic foreign locale shortlisted by the makers. Rawail says he is in talks with a couple of leading Bollywood music directors because the “the music in my past hits like Love Story and Betaab is evergreen. And my goal is good music.” The idea, says the filmmaker is to make a “feel good romantic adventure” that takes love to a pulsating high.

The icing on the cake is the fact that Rawail has convinced his close friend Rishi Kapoor to play a pivotal role and also has star-technicians like director of photography Binod Pradhan and sound recordist Rakesh Ranjan on board.