Hordes of women join the film industry in various departments, but art direction will be the last thing on their mind. Dundhu Renjeev, however, did not have any second thoughts when she walked right into this men’s club and won herself a spot there as art director.
Recalling her journey, Dundhu says, “It is a long story. Movies were always my subject of interest. But then, most families consider it a risk to send their daughters into the film industry. My family is full of doctors and it wanted me to join the medical field. I did courses in animation and then took up BSc Visual Communication at St. Josephs College, Bengaluru. During the initial years, I did not know which part of the film industry to join. By the time I reached my final year, my professors directed me towards art direction as I was interested in art and painting. I was always into paint and craft and I am a self-taught artist.”
She forayed into art direction as an intern with Dulquer Salmaan’s 100 Days of Love. “I joined as an intern during the movie’s second schedule at Bengaluru and assisted Ajay Mangad.”
Dundhu then became an assistant art director for various TV commercials, V.K.Prakash’s Rockstar and donned the hat of an art director for the popular web series The other love story. “The web series was my first independent work after which I met Uma (Kumarapuram) and was roped in as the Art Director for her film Across the Ocean.”
Asked what stops women from taking up art direction, she says, “The common perception associated with this department is that it is a physically taxing job. It involves everything from painting to carpentry and I have done all those. We will have to do it. Most people in the art department are there out of their love for art or because they are artists. It might be the physical labour that might be keeping them off.”
Dundhu talks about how the industry has treated her so far. “I did not know a single thing when I walked into the sets of 100 Days of Love. The people in the art section had no clue what I was going to do there or what they could make me do. After interacting with them, they slowly accepted me and soon enough, I was a part of the team. For me, it was a challenge when they gave me tasks. There were times when I used to think that I will not be part of another project. If we talk to anyone in the industry, they would say how tired they are by the time they get home. But after each project, we somehow have that positive energy to be part of another project.”
Dundhu is currently working on Uma’s Across the Ocean.
