Star Plus’ Mahabharat, which is touted as the most expensive affair on TV so far, boasts hi-tech sets, impressive creative units and flawless coordination among hundreds of artists. Karan Bhardwaj walked through the Umbergaon Studio in Gujarat
As we drive down the countryside of Umbergaon in Valsad, Gujarat, it is hard to anticipate the life and like of kings, queens and warriors that’s brooding in the secluded land. Huge iron gates of Umbergaon Studios are thrown open, and like a time machine’s act, we are transported to an unseen territory, aptly called Hastinapur. Men dressed in warriors’ outfit gaze upon us as they hurriedly rush to the director’s call. “Move quickly, 40 of janta is required. Go to the main durbar,” instructs an assistant director, smiling at us. A few metres ahead, the shoot is in full swing. Yudhishthira, the eldest son of Kunti, was being felicitated as the king of Indraprastha. The main durbar exemplifies the grand scale of this epic show. The imaginations run at full throttle and the mythological saga, which is known to be larger than life, appears to be a fact of history. Top lights, hidden lights, lights on sides, all make the set glow like a golden paradise. Made up of POP, fibre and cement majorly, the 10 thrones rest on each side of the king’s seat. The main throne is bigger than the king himself. Even the pillars are well lit, using hidden and invisible wires. The balconies are women area from where the ladies of the kingdom witness the rituals. “There are over 400 people working daily. It took us one and a half year to erect this set. The entire set up is high on VFX and chrome,” says Amol Surve, creative director of Mahabharat.
Spread over 10 acres of land in Umbergaon, the location is divided into seven main sets which are utilised for variety of shots. There is main baithak, façade, Vrindavan (where Krishna appeared), den, multi-utility room, bedroom and chroma floor. The sets are bathed with new technology with chroma covering.
“It helps enormously. For instance, at the market area, we have built eight to 10 mini shops. In the end, there is a green cover, which makes it a long market on TV. The den, where 100 sons of Dhritarashtra were shown being born and hung in nets were actually shot with seven nets. The rest were created later during post-production,” says Surve.
The land of Umberaon has a historic relevance. Interestingly, the same studio was used to produce Ramanand Sagar’s Ramanyan and BR Chopra’s Mahabharat.
“But ours is the grandest among all. During our meetings with the channel and the producers, we were told to make something which should last for another two decades, like the previous epics did,” says the creative director.
There are speculative reports of investment over Rs 100 crore. But the makers refuse to divulge monetary details.
The makers also recycle the products. Since the cost of artefacts is very high, recycling is inevitable. “We plan to produce the end product which can easily be morphed with least modifications,” said Surve.
What fascinates the imagination of directorsIJ How do they recreate the era which is open to creativityIJ
“We refer mostly to Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings. Rest, we try to hype the scale. We have a team of researchers and creative unit. like for Indraspratha, which is said to be land of maya and magic, we have given it a celestial feel. The blue colour is used dominantly. The colour combinations are decided keeping in mind the hues and sizes of costumes, props, weapons and set up. We also draw inspiration from real sites, like the main temple of Hastinapur is a recreation of a famous Cambodian temple,” says Amit Singh, set designer.
The lady luck
The fierce character of Draupadi, played by Pooja Sharma, has put a fresh lease of life in sinking TRPs of Mahabharat. “I don’t feel that pressure but I am told numbers have gone up ever since the character has been introduced,” says Sharma, who sits straight and demonstrate the ‘restrained’ body language, as she is trained. At no point, she displays the stress. “My day starts at 5 am and it takes three hours to get into the character. It’s not a child’s pay to carry 50 kgs of lehenga and duniya bhar ki jewellery…I think I am so done with elaborate make up and costumes that I’ll go simple in my own wedding,” she quips.