Whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. That saying goes rather well with Art Director Sukant Panigrahy - one of the most quirky yet dependable professionals in contemporary Hindi film industry. He came. He countered. He conquered. But he also stayed true to himself, and that's what makes him distinct. We have covered the beginning

Whatever doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.

That saying goes rather well with Art Director Sukant Panigrahy – one of the most quirky yet dependable professionals in contemporary Hindi film industry. He came. He countered. He conquered. But he also stayed true to himself, and that’s what makes him distinct.

We have covered the beginning of his amazing journey in the first edition of this two part blog, till the time Sukant landed his first independent feature film project as an Art Director – Prakash Jha’s ‘Gangajal’.

I certainly have a feeling that to do justice to the twists and turns of his journey, I might need to write an entire book. I can only say it’s tough to do that without sponsors, and continue to earn my sustenance at the same time. Believe me, I tried and I know.

I did start the process of writing a book on Mulchand Dedhia, India’s first and foremost Gaffer, even interviewed him for 10 days – but have not been able to complete the project yet. I will do that book for sure, but yes, it will still take some time.

So no more tall claims, as of now.

Here I will focus only on the key turning points of Sukant’s journey, things that have shaped his unique personality and artistic craft. Even then, statutory warning – this is long-format writing. In this case – it might become extra-long.

After working on Gangajal, things became slow for Sukant. Couple of days of work in a month, or maybe three days, just enough to keep the ball rolling. When the film was finally released, it caught the fancy of viewers. As a result, Sukant started getting offers as an art-director, but by then he wanted to get away from it all.

Now, Sukant wanted to make his own movies.

At the same time, Helen Jones, an Australian film-making aspirant with an art and cinema background came to his life. Helen had worked on films in her native country as well as acted in Hollywood films. Despite being quite older than Sukant, her unique perspective on cinema appealed to Sukant. They met, they continued to talk, and soon became a team.

That was when Sukant decided to go back to Odisha. He wanted to make films in Odia – tell the stories of his own people, culture.

“FILM-MAKING IS NOT A SOLO SHOW”

I didn’t want to do art direction. Wanted to escape from Mumbai.

Me, Helen, and my three-year-old son from my first marriage who was with me – three of us went to Odisha. I gave myself the time of a year – because in terms of funds, that was all I could afford.

If nothing happens, we come back in a year. That was the plan.

In Odisha, I went to places that I had never visited. Being an eager student of Odia literature and culture, I made it a point to go visit the original spaces of the stories that had formed a major part of my childhood. For instance, I visited the tribal belts of Malkangiri and Koraput. I wanted to compare the world of the story I read with the contemporary world – in case I needed to recreate it on screen. You might say I gave myself a year of study time, to tell stories authentically.

During this time, I took efforts to start shooting as well.

But you know what, film-making is not a solo show. You can’t make a film alone. It’s teamwork. Although I sometimes did manage to bring together a team that was just right – funding it was a separate issue. Why should someone fund an indie story like this? It’s a gamble for him.

If the script doesn’t conform to the market, if it is alternative or offbeat, there is always a risk factor involved. I didn’t get a producer willing to take that risk and walk with me through the project. I did everything I could do from my side, but everything got stuck when it came to funds. Neither was I ever able to collect enough to fund it alone, nor could I find someone who would trust a project like this.

When nothing happened, we came back. Me, Helen and my three plus years old son. You probably won’t believe me, but after coming back we stayed in budget hotels while I resumed looking for work.

Almost starting from the scratch – it was that bad.

Sukant shelved his directorial dreams for a while.

Since people had appreciated his work in Gangajal, he started messaging everyone he knew. Shimit Amin’s team responded. Shimit had already done ‘Abtak 56’ and he was looking for an art-director for his latest sports drama. For this – he wanted a raw and rugged feel, not the polished Sharmistha Roy kind of look.

That Aditya Chopra project came to Sukant. It was ‘Chak De India’.

“I PROMISED EARLY, AND KEPT THEM”

Between Gangajal and Chak De India, almost three years have passed.

I think Shimit must have seen my Gangajal work and thought of me as the right fit for the kind of visual imagery he had in mind. He didn’t want to build sets, but I convinced him that they will be realistic. Remember the dormitory in Chak De India – that was a set. The bathrooms where the kids take shower – all of that was so realistic that he agreed to use sets. So, everything was set in the first-half of the film. We did go to Delhi for a montage shoot in a stadium and just a few shots, including some jogging shots – but rest was all in Mumbai.

For Yash Raj, Chak De was somewhat an experimental film, not really a full-scale Shahrukh Khan film. Om Shanti Om was happening side by side – and this was ‘also’ happening. Everybody was apprehensive, they didn’t know if the film would work. Well, Adi Chopra did have faith in the film, he had read the script, and had faith in Shimit Amin and his team.

Chak De built a reputation for me – that this guy is good with sets. In Gangajal, I created Bihar in Maharashtra, then I managed to create Delhi convincingly in Mumbai. All of this gave me an identity. It was like just tell him where the story is from, and he will create that vibe through sets and art. I was good with texturing, which is a craft in itself. Sometimes people overdo it, but it’s important to have a balance. I started getting more and more assignments that looked for realistic depictions through set design.

Sukant during his Chak De years – picked this one up from his flicker account.

Those days, another winning factor for me became my habit of sticking to the budget that I promised to the producer. There were many others who didn’t believe in that, they just kept spending without any concern for the producer. That was not my style. I knew that I had to survive in this industry – and it would help if I could stay within budget. If I could minimize the pressure on the producer and yet deliver quality work, they will come back to me for sure.

See, a producer works under budget limitations. Nobody wants or expects their film to flop – right? But in the back of his mind, the producer has his own safety net, his own calculations, that even if the film flops, he will have a certain quantum of return that will keep him in a good place. He is taking a calculated risk here. Why jeopardize that by going haywire in your expenses – so that he ends up devastated?

So, I promised early, mostly at the script level, and then kept my promises. That built trust with Yash Raj. When they asked me, I promised to complete Chak De sets in 50 lakhs. I did it within that amount.

CHAKDE _flicker bathroom

CHAKDE _flicker Kabir’s room

CHAKDE _flicker locker room 2

CHAKDE _flicker locker room

CHAKDE _flicker boardroom

Dorm View Chak De

CHAKDE _flicker locker room 3

All of these were sets!! I was genuinely surprised to know that.

When Chak De India was just about to end, Sukant got a lifetime opportunity to work in a Wes Anderson film – ‘The Darjeeling Limited’.

Working with Wes would be a dream come true for any production designer. But at that time, Sukant didn’t know that. Anderson’s team came to Sharmistha Roy, but she was not available. She recommended Sukant’s name. He went to Delhi, held meetings, and then started working on the project. By then he had seen all his earlier films and realized that Wes gave utmost importance to production design. Obviously, Sukant was excited.

He shared this excitement with others on the set of Chak De India.

I believe that might have been a mistake.

“DID YOU KNOW SUKANT IS WORKING WITH WES ANDERSON?”

During the pre-production of Chak De, I told Shimit Amin during lunch that I was working with Wes on his new project. He almost choked on his food. I still remember his expression – ‘wow, leave everything and go there’, that’s what he said. He went running to Adi Chopra and told him – did you know Sukant’s working with Wes Anderson? Just let him go and focus on that film – he will learn so much.

Well Adi being Adi, he did exactly the opposite. He told me – leave all those Hollywood pipe-dreams. Start work on ‘Aaja Nachle’ immediately. I was facing the horns of a dilemma. Even I started thinking, although with Wes I get to learn a lot, there I was still working as an Art Director under a Production Designer. And here, I am the Production Designer. I am the senior. I am getting the opportunity to be in the big league.

That apart, Aaaja Nachle was a huge big-budget extravaganza. The entire film was within the set. See I was used to budgets of 10-15 lakhs for the art department, imagine my awe when that suddenly spiked to 2-3 crores. An entire village needed to be built, with complete town-planning.

So, I decided to stay back and do Aaja Nachle.

It’s not that I left the Wes Anderson film midway. I was there during the pre-production in the beginning, as the main art director. Following his designs, we created a replica of the interiors of a train in Mahboob Studio. I agree, I could have learnt a lot if I stayed back, but I did complete the task assigned to me, handed it over and moved on.

After that, one after the other Yash Raj films kept coming. I didn’t have time to think about anything else. Films like ‘Jhoom Barabar Jhoom’, and then ‘Tashan’. All big films.

Tashan looked like a wonderful film at the script level. We thought we were about to make something like a Quentin Tarantino film.

It was the director’s first film, and Adi Chopra gave us the freedom to make it our way. Whatever might have gone wrong later, in terms of storytelling or structuring of the film or even performances – that’s a separate issue. But we did enjoy the making of that film. There was no scarcity of money, and we went all out, unleashing our imagination.

Yashraj is good with extravaganza. Thanks to his stint with Sharmistha, the ‘spectacular’ had also become Sukant’s forte. That apart, Adi had trust on him. Besides his own fees, Sukant always spent money according to a plan, and kept all his accounts transparent.

That was also the time when DEV-D entered his life.

Sukant was also a bit tired doing similar kinds of films, so a cheeky retelling of the Devadas mythos came to him as something fresh and unique.

By then, Sukant had seen a few scenes of Anurag Kashyap’s ‘No Smoking’. And yes, he did see ‘Black Friday’. Sukant told me that he really liked Anurag’s film-making sensibilities. It was evident that Anurag was trying to do something in a different space – and he had made a name for himself doing that.

“DEV D BAFFLED AND INTRIGUED ME, AT THE SAME TIME”

I remember, that was the time when the other Devdas was also being made – the Sanjay Leela Bhansali version. That kind of gaudy, over-the-top styling I never really liked. So, when someone comes to me and tells me ki another version of Devdas is being made, on the same story – it baffled me and intrigued me at the same time.

Dev D was another interesting journey. At that point of time in my career, it sure was a challenge to take up a film with huge aspirations but a very limited budget.

Helen was with me all along. She not just acted in the film, but gave invaluable suggestions about how to fix the look of the film. We always had this creative ‘keeda’ of making our own films – that came back during Dev D. We took inspiration from films of Wong Kar Wai – picked up design concepts from films like ‘In the mood of love’.

Sukant Panigrahy impressed with Wong Kar Wai films — Wong Kar Wai inspired DEV-D looks.

Whatever you see in Dev D, for example, the elements in Dev’s hotel room, all of those were hand-picked by us from various Delhi markets – mainly by Helen. She worked on the colour scheme, the draperies, the correct kind of furniture and what not. There was no money, but she did take up the job of an art-director quite enthusiastically. That was the kind of film that really gave us the chance to think beyond the usual.

Sukant Panigrahy and Anurag Kashyap in Dev D — DEV D – realistic yet magical set design.

If you look at my career, I have always done smaller films along with big-budget ones. I did smaller films for a specific purpose – to pick up young talents. So many kids came to me for work, but I can’t possibly give all of them complete attention. I had my own work to do. So, I tested them in smaller films – and picked the hard-working ones for the larger films in terms of budgets. Which also means, by the time they reached the larger films, they gained enough experience.

Moreover, I never forgot my struggling days. I kept the process alive, of learning from whatever sources I can. I used to think, there could be a time when I stop getting big-budget films. What will I do under those circumstances – will I compromise with quality? These thoughts kept me going, and I never declined work, big or small budget.

Many of the struggling directors came to me after the success of Dev D. They came with their first films, knowing I would deliver. ‘Sukant Dada’ would somehow manage. I even recycled material from large films for these smaller budget films.

This sense of humility and inability to forget his roots is what makes Sukant stand out in the crowd of Hindi Cinema’s who’s who. This is what makes him special – this innate urge to help others. This urge had stayed all along, coming to the surface often.

Let’s go a little back in time. Even while working under Sharmistha, during the times of ‘Dil Toh Pagal Hai’ – Sukant had joined a theatre group. Mostly because he didn’t have a friend circle in Mumbai at that time.

The director of that group Amarjeet Amle hosted major plays, of Dharamvir Bharti and others. From that group, Nirmal Pandey and Saurav Shukla became key entrants into the film industry – rest there were others too.

But Sukant remembers the experience for entirely different reasons.

“I TURNED MY MODEST CHAWL INTO A LIBRARY”

Those people are still my friends.

During those days, while these members of the theatre group were trying to get into cinema, I was in lookout for a forum where I could belong.

I had fun there in that theatre group. Particularly, I loved the director Amarjit Amle’s natural, modest effort towards helping others. People who came to him had various interests – some wanted to get into acting, others wanted to pick up scripting skills, yet others had interest in art and set design and some wanted to learn production – he used to give ample time to them, listen to them and suggest the way forward. Say someone had interest in writing – he put that person across to Saurav Shukla. Like that – you know.

I started doing something of the same sort in my own room.

Those days I was living in a chawl. I started interacting with the kids in my neighbourhood, turned my modest room into a library, used its kitchen to cook basic meals for them, and used my TV to watch films and discuss with them.

Basically, to engage them, I became a curator of sorts.

There’s another thing. During one of my journeys, I read a book by Vivekananda, where in his inimitable style he appealed to others to uplift the society around them. It stayed with me, and perhaps led me towards this path of self-realization through voluntary social work. I was so influenced by him that I decided to stay single and work for the community. Well, but of course that didn’t happen eventually. That’s another story.

Sharmistha encouraged me. In fact, she was to one who tagged me onto Vivekananda. I named this effort ‘Muskaan’ – but never was able to register it as a proper NGO. In fact, I did start the process of registration, but lost interest when the authorities started asking for bribe. I didn’t want to get into all of that. Keeping daily accounts and creating annual reports wasn’t my forte.

See, you have to understand, my target wasn’t to earn money by starting an NGO – just wanted to be of some help to others within my limited resources, that’s all. All I wanted is to give my own (yet to arrive) child a happy home, surrounded by a garbage-free neighbourhood.

Sometimes, I look at my own journey. Who knows what would have happened if I didn’t have these chance encounters with Ajit dada, and later Sharmistha Roy. I don’t know where I would be without their support.

Hence, if I have a chance encounter with someone, it becomes my duty to at least give them some time. If I happen to find even a little bit of ‘spark’ in them – maybe facilitate their journey by connecting them with someone. The efforts I took also showed results. There are at least 10 to 15 production designers who started from zero with me – but now they are names to reckon with in the industry.

On a lighter note, when I will finally make my ‘Spielberg’ film someday, these people will come handy, right? Whatever progress they make is definitely going to come back to me when I make my own magnum opus.

Yet another day. Yet another chance encounter.

Working with M F Hussain became a key turning point of Sukant’s life. That was when he started thinking of himself as a potential artist rather than just an art-director in films.

Sukant’s mentor Sharmistha Roy was the Production Designer for both M F Hussain films – ‘Gaj Gamini’ and ‘Meenaxi’. Since both were art-heavy, she trusted Sukant to do the major work. In the process, he got the chance to see ‘Hussain sir’ working – up-close and personal.

“ I HAD TO ADD THE THIRD-DIMENSION IN HUSSAIN SIR’S SKETCHES”

Every set of Hussain Sir was like an artwork in itself.

His sets gave me the very first idea of what an installation looks like. Later on, when I went to Europe and Australia, I saw temporary experiential installations in many major art galleries – but working with Hussain Sir instigated that creative impulse in me for the first time.

For me the core challenge was – sets were to be constructed on the basis of Hussain Sir’s drawings. Now his drawings were two-dimensional. I had to imagine and add the third-dimension to it, for characters to move around. I did learn a lot.

See, frankly speaking, I still haven’t been able to understand the storyline of his films. What I did understand was he wanted to juxtapose multiple dreams together – involving one artist and his muse. So, it’s about depicting the internal workings of a creative personality. How the muse impacts the artist – like how Mona Lisa inspired Da Vinci, how Banaras has been a muse to him, to create a series on Banaras.

I asked him – what is it that makes him special.

I mean, I also draw, much like him – and sometimes my drawings seem to me to be better than him. So how is it that my drawings are worthless and his drawings are worth millions. He thought for a while, scratching his beard and asked me – What’s your age? I said it was around 24-25. He said you won’t understand anything now even if I tried to explain. You will realize when you reach 40 and beyond. I was flabbergasted – does that mean I have to wait till I reach 40 to become an artist.

He told me, live your life. That will give you the necessary experience and impetus to become an artist. All that comes to you will build your ethos – but I can’t tell you exactly how it would happen. Every life journey is different. Just live life.

You know one thing that I regret the most. With Hussain Sir, I worked on the same script. He made sketches on the script, which I then implemented. After a minor squabble with Sharmistha, I went and threw off that invaluable script in her office.

If I had kept it, well!! You know.

That was when Sukant started thinking beyond cinema.

He now wanted to explore other artistic domains like installations and sculptures – so he approached the Kala Ghoda Festival organizers in Mumbai. For that festival, he came up with this idea of making a huge black horse out of scrap material and waste.

That Black Horse was hugely appreciated. It was a genuine crowd puller, and the jury members of the festival were very impressed, which they mentioned without any qualms.

“FINALLY, I HAVE AN IDENTITY.”

That was my first serious attempt to reach out as an artist.

I started feeling that finally I have an identity of my own. That feeling intensified when Ajit dada came to the Kala Ghoda festival. He was amused and surprised with me – ‘What all have you done in such a short while!!’

He himself still worked in serials – and here I am, his protegee, working in big banner films. That apart, I am also creating art-work that is being appreciated universally. Ajit dada’s arrival to the festival made me also realize the journey that I had traversed – it was a feel-good moment of self-realization.

Sukant continued doing numerous sculpture and installation-art out of trash material.

People appreciated them, and he started earning respect as an artist. That was also when he started looking for a place to set up his own community art-studio. Somewhere from where he could contribute to the society through his work, his practice.

Sukant’s well appreciated ‘Kapali’ made of e-waste

While doing the VFX course in Chennai, Sukant visited Auroville a few times. Auroville blew his mind. The architecture, the lifestyle, the community living – that got inside him. Since then, he always wanted to create his own such retreat – a space for his creative impulses, modelled on the manner of Auroville, but without its religious cadence .

“I CALL THEM LIVEABLE SCULPTURES”

I finally settled for this farmhouse kind of space in Mircholi village, Karjat. I have always been a learner – so I wanted to turn this space into a learning-exchange hub.

You see, there are lots of free time between projects, when you are idling your time doing nothing meaningful. Those are the times when I can come here – doing stuff that I want to do. At all times I had lots of trash lying with me – studio waste from my sets. I used all of that for construction of installations, even rooms and houses.

I call them liveable-sculptures. This dodecahedron house where we are speaking is one of them. It might look like a sculpture from the outside, but you can stay in it quite comfortably. You can see for yourself, in this room where we are sitting and talking, there’s no need to run the fan. There is so much of air-circulation. Even in the peak summer months, due to its unique architecture – this remains always cool.

I created this entire self-reliant and sustainable living unit out of scrap material. With proper coverage, this idea could very well be scaled up across the nation. Even I want to test this in various geographies – to check its durability. I wanted to make this disaster proof – but how do I do that unless I can build and test them in disaster prone zones? As far as torrential rains and heavy winds are concerned, that is already tested here. Made during the first phase of Corona lockdown, it has been standing upright with dignity for more than 4 years now.

I have stayed here overnight, for months together. This is good enough for a family. You have the kitchen, living space and bathroom on the ground floor, for the bedroom you take a spiral staircase to the second floor, and the floor above that is a covered terrace. There you can sit with a cuppa tea, or whatever your poison might be, and enjoy the rains and the winds.

You want to paint in the middle of a night – be my guest.

It’s very peaceful.

The Dodecahedron House at Karjat during its making phase.
We sat on the first floor of this for the interview.

Sukant wants people to start rethinking on habitation. He built this house just to prove that such ideas are possible. Environmental degradation has always been a major concern for Sukant – perhaps due to his early rural roots. All his major artworks, including his installations made out of waste, express this worry.

Sukant’s installations made of e-waste and plastic garbage.

He is afraid of the indifference of people when it comes to contributing for the environment. His concern is genuine – there has been so much of talks about pollution and global warming, everyone seems to be afraid of a dystopian future without natural resources and we are making countless films about it – but what are we really doing about it?

“HOW ARE WE REACTING TO FEAR??”

One thing is definite. I want to comment, politically, on the current situation in which we are living. How an overbearing sense of fear controls all of our movements! We are living in fear – all sorts of fear.

This perilous condition – how are we reacting to this fear?

You tell me? Are we on track?

If we just think as individuals how much of garbage we are creating, and take some steps to mitigate it – these problems could be solved in a jiffy. We are aware that air and water quality is degrading on a regular basis, but what is the individual doing? Standing in protests during weekends? Tweeting about the issue? Is that enough?

You see, it might not be possible to change the world around you, but you can always change the world inside you. That will help you create things that would eventually inspire others towards similar thinking. In my art and my films, I want to put up a mirror to the society. People need to realize what is it that they are losing through their indifference. I want to create a crystal ball for them, in which they can foresee their future and act towards reversing the damage that is already done.

Among all these what piqued my interest was Sukant’s continued efforts towards telling his own stories – as a writer-director.

It’s not that he didn’t try. Some films were shot around 80%, others 50%, some 10% – but none of them reached completion, for reasons beyond his control. Till the time the lockdown came, Sukant has tried seven to eight times to make his own film.

“FINALLY, I DID COMPLETE A FILM”

If you ask me, my favourite genre is magic realism.

Cinema can create a different kind of magic. At one hand, you are enthralling the audience and at the same time, you are saying something, directly or indirectly. It’s up to the viewer how he can make up the story in his own way.

Just before the lockdown, a friend of mine from Kashmir sent me a story that impressed me. I somehow wanted to make that film. We worked on it. The script was ready for shoot when the lockdown happened. We waited, and when the lockdown got relaxed in 2021, we started work on it and finished the film. It was a short film of 24 minutes, and since it was in Kashmiri language, I gave my writer friend credit as a director. He did play a major directorial role. I produced that film.

It’s called ‘Where is Kashmir?’.

So, finally, I did manage to complete a film.

I am very happy and satisfied with the print that arrived. The sensibilities that I wanted to get into that film is there. Now wherever it goes after its completion is a different story.

Where is Kashmir poster. — Poster of ‘Where is Kashmir?’

For me, I got confidence that if I can manage 24 minutes, I will be able to manage a full-length feature as well. So whatever stories I have developed over the last 15-20 years are in waiting. I hope I get a collaborator who believes in the story.

Around six or seven of them I like a lot – and I do hope that at least one of them will see the light of the day, before I walk off to the sunset.

Sukant on the sets of ‘Where is Kashmir’

I can’t get into the details of the short film which I have seen and enjoyed – since it is still being privately sent to festivals around the world. All I can say is its a simple and heartfelt story of childhoods that lack identity, and impositions that doesn’t make sense wherever they are.

No wonder Sukant liked the story.

Even if he doesn’t make a single feature film of his own, Sukant Panigrahy will very well be remembered for the person he is, and for the respect he has garnered from the underprivileged within the film industry. Not everyone has the guts to stand against the colossal might of the producers, especially when those same producers gave him work.

During his long stint in the Mumbai Film Industry, Sukant Panigrahi didn’t like the way the labour unions functioned. Unlike many others who might have had the same feeling, he decided to do something about it.

“WORKERS WERE TERRIFIED OF UNIONS”

I observed that the art-section always faced a somewhat step-motherly treatment. For instance, when a film went overbudget, other departments didn’t suffer as much as the art department. Work kept happening, but the wages of the menial worker always got stuck till the end. Sometimes, even after the release of the film, the workers still didn’t get their dues.

Here the role of the union was crucial.

My most major influence and inspiration in this area was Mithun Chakraborty. Being a hero, he had no reasons to get into all these, but he did. He was requested to join the labour union during its onset, and he not only agreed to get engaged, but started playing an active role. His towering persona definitely helped the union to stay in track.

During his time, barring a few completely lost cases, most of these problems used to get solved. People got paid, eventually.

But then Mithun dada got busy in his own work, a band of corrupt people came to the forefront of the union. These leaders started misusing their position of power. They got into secret deals with producers for their personal benefits, rather than look out for the welfare of the workers. That was when I started feeling that some senior people like me should stand against this trend – at least raise our voices to point out what was happening.

Even before becoming art-director when I was working as a daily-wage worker, or as an artist under Sharmistha, I felt that people were terrified of unions. First of all, if you are not enrolled with them, you are not likely to get any work. Secondly, they used to frequent the sets to figure out if everything was all right – in terms of safety, or work-shifts. That was their work anyways, but the leaders were not cordial to the workers. They were rude, conscious of the power they hold, and I think that got into their heads.

I felt I might have a role to play here – to make things better for the present and upcoming youth. Hence, I decided to fight the elections, and won.

The events that followed emotionally drained me in to such an extent, that I sacrificed six to seven years of my career to union work.

This engagement had a huge backlash on Sukant’s career, which still continues. All of a sudden, producers who had lot of trust on Sukant, started avoiding him. This had nothing to do with his work. Sukant firmly believes that the stamp of being a ‘union-leader’ alienated him from the producers, who started feeling threatened.

Naturally, since his fight was against them.

If he saw something wrong on the sets , he used to point it out then and there. Producers didn’t like that. They would rather work with less vocal people.

Sukant willingly stirred the hornet’s nest. And that stung him back.

“MOST BACKLASH CAME FROM MY OWN PEOPLE”

My issues were largely with the working conditions.

There were so many junior workers, including women. Artists, and even directors have their own vanity vans – but what about the other workers? They didn’t have even the basic facilities. Not even proper toilets.

Long working hours, safety concerns, lack of ambulance and doctors on set, lack of payments on time, even food hygiene – nothing was in place, properly. Say you decide to call pack up after midnight, how will these people reach home? Arrange for a conveyance, or at least pay them a bit extra so that they can take a taxi or something. These things are not that tough to do – just needs a bit of caring for fellow humans.

I am still involved in the union, although not that actively anymore. You might say I have learnt my lesson. Most of the backlash came from my own people – the union members.

All I wanted was a clean and conducive work atmosphere. Whatever you have promised, pay it on time – that was all. I strongly believed an enhanced work-culture will have a positive impact on the work itself. But all of that fell on deaf ears. I am sorry to say, the situation remains much the same even now – despite all our attempts.

It’s just that in the process, I have lost work. Lots of it.

Sukant now feels that despite his sincere attempts, things haven’t changed much.

There has been an increased awareness, but people who could actively make a difference are not interested in union work. It’s somewhat similar to the way normal people look at politics. People would like to comment on it, criticize it, but when it comes to joining it to make some real changes happen – they have an acute aversion towards active involvement.

“I AM NOT THE ONE TO RUN AWAY FROM DANGER”

Tell me, if everyone thinks the same, how will the problem get solved. However strongly may I try to stay away from it, the problem will still impact my work, because my workers are involved as well.

During my union days, there was a short story that inspired me a lot.

A forest was on fire. While everyone else is fleeing, one little bird is taking droplets of water and trying to douse the fire, one drop at a time. Everyone laughs at the bird’s foolishness, but the bird keeps on doing this. After a while, rains arrive and the fire gets extinguished. Upon being asked, the bird responds with pride – ‘I knew my efforts weren’t enough. But at least my name won’t be counted among those who ran away from danger. I was at least attempting and trying my best’

That’s where the story ends. No one knows what happened to the little bird later, and whether the other residents of the jungle really understood what she was trying to convey.

For me, I continue to be who I am.

For me, Sukant comes across as strange.

How can someone follow his heart wherever it takes him, always choose the rough terrain despite being mostly barefoot, without caring about the repercussions? How can someone not just keep his senses alive but keep enhancing them, enduring obstacles at every stage?

That’s strange, isn’t it? That’s what crazy looks like to us who are used to compromise our dreams for life’s little conveniences.

Sukant stood for what he believed in. He consciously did things just because he thought it was his duty to do them. He took roads that led to his own isolation.

Who does that? Will you?

For me, I believe it’s rather difficult to be Sukant Panigrahy.

Sukant loves interacting with fresh minds.

It’s been a long interview.

But I couldn’t possibly end it without asking my customary last question, can I?

For my young friends, I always try and ask stalwarts in the industry about how to follow in their footsteps. And as far as Sukant is concerned, he loves interacting with young and fresh minds. He goes to Subhash Ghai’s school Whistling Woods from time to time – as a visiting faculty. There he teaches direction students about Production Design. He also goes to FTII, NID and NSD among other eminent institutes. Many students there, especially those with artistic inclinations, want to get into the field of art-direction.

I asked Sukant, from the perspective of a greenhorn (which I am) – in case I want to become an Art-Director/Production Designer in the film industry, how do I go about it?

“THE BEST WAY IN IS TO FIND A MENTOR”

Film production design is a very different path to take.

If someone wants to become an art-director and then a production designer – then he or she should first ask themselves, do they have curiosity and the knack for it?

It’s a mix of many things. You can come from a good sculptural background, or a painting background – you will need all those skills. That is the first step – be an expert in your own field.

And then comes understanding the requirements of the script. Once again, observe the masters. Take your pick based on the kind of films you like. From Hitchcock to Spielberg, from Wes Anderson to Tarantino – look at the backdrops of the films they have made, not just the characters. Notice them carefully, since it will be your job to create them.

I tell my interns; it is not possible to learn art-direction in one project or in two-three months. If you are serious, you will have to commit for at least a year. More the better. It’s not that you have to stick to me. If I don’t have work, go to someone else, don’t waste time.

Just like what I used to do while working with Sharmistha. Between her mega-projects I picked up small budget projects, even Punjabi films. Since they had limited budgets, these films were fraught with challenges. What I learnt from meeting those challenges I could have never learnt if I worked just with Sharmistha.

This problem-solving approach and never-say-no attitude helped me get my first independent project Gangajal, which, as I have already told you, was intended to be a low-budget, small scale film. This expertise also helped me to do Chak De in such a measly amount.

To get into the field of art-direction, probably the best way is to find a mentor, a guru. In the beginning it will be tough, you will get lots of throwbacks. Stick on. Once you get the hang of it, you will start getting more responsibilities. That means you are on track. Things in this field take time to learn, because it’s not just about your artistic vision, but also about your ability to manage people and situations, quick-thinking and meeting the stress of seemingly impossible deadlines.

See what you are doing here is creating a world with inputs from a story, script, and the director’s vision. It has to be believable. If you yourself do not believe in this world, who will believe in your work?

Faith is a good thing to have on yourself. And hope.

Once these emotions do not make sense anymore, life loses a fair share of its meaning and substance. Sukant understands that. He knows, hope that you give gets back at you . In a very miniscule and humble way, I believe in that too.

Dear readers, I did want to present this blog in the new year. That didn’t happen, and I will not blame myself entirely for that. Neither will I blame anybody else, including circumstances. On the other hand, yes, I do want to make some course corrections now.

Somehow, close to 70 people are reading this blog everyday. I don’t know how the fish that’s happening – but if you have really had the patience to reach till here, I would rather want to share my new year’s resolution . Last year, I managed to do only two blogs – on Hitendra Ghosh and Sukant Panigrahy. I would say that is a bit too less considering the money Bluehost and GoDaddy charges me annually.

This year I am going to change that. Let’s try one in a month, at least. And that book.

Do you like Bollywood dancing? If you do, prepare for a feast.

For now, I leave you with an interview. For Sukant, enough is nothing.