Avinash Kolla never received formal training in art. However, after a B.Sc., in biological sciences and a Master’s in Psychology, he has turned into one of the most promising young art directors in Tollywood today.
“Painting came to me by birth. I used to paint from childhood and continued it right through my studies.”
Currently working as an art director for the film Mahanati, Avinash says, “The film is a biopic of yesteryear legendary actress Savitri, so I have to pay more attention and put in hard work towards my art work.”
Prior to making his debut with Krishnagadi Veera Prema Gaadha, Avinash was an event manager. “I did many events for corporates and after seeing my work, I got my first chance in films,” he shares.
Later he worked for films like Hyper, Lie and Kittu Vunnadu Jagratha among others. “When the director narrates the story to me, I think about the set ambience and how to design the sets based on the characters too,” he says, adding that he never uses anything bought directly from the store. “I want to recreate everything and don’t like to buy even furniture from the shop for my set design,” says Avinash, who interestingly worked as a scientist after his graduation in CCMB for a six-month period.
“I wanted to serve the nation, so I worked there, but it was a 24x7 job, and I did not get enough family time. So I resigned and prepared for the IAS and passed the preliminaries too,” he shares. Later, he dropped that idea too as he felt that it was not suited for his mentality. He even started his own digital advertising agency before joining Tollywood as an art director.
Talking about Mahanati, which is a period drama, Avinash admits that he did a lot of research. “This is the first Telugu film where we created nearly 32 sets. As per my knowledge, no Telugu film till now has been shot in as many sets,” he reveals, adding that all these sets are period sets.
“I watched Mayabazar several times and can remember each frame,” says Avinash, adding, “We did nearly three months research for the sets. I met veteran filmmaker Singeetam Srinivasa Rao garu, who worked as an assistant director on the old classic. We recreated all the antiques and brought the camera and other technical equipment from different places.” Not surprisingly, Singeetam was completely satisfied after seeing Avinash’s work.
Avinash’s sets are so authentic that many in the audience feel that the director has shot on real locations. “If you look at the film LIE, many don’t know that we shot some scenes in a studio in Hyderabad. Most people thought that it was shot in the US,” he reveals, and adds, “I am writing a book and planning to release it in the next two years.”
