For director Boyapati Srinu and Bellamkonda Srinivas’ upcoming film, a set worth Rs 3 crore was constructed, just to shoot a song on Srinivas and Rakul Preet Singh. This, however, isn’t the first time that a big set is being created to shoot a song.
For Balakrishna’s Legend, nearly Rs 2 crore was spent on a set to shoot a song. Recently, films like Khaidi No. 150 and Gautamiputra Satakarni, too, spent a fortune to construct huge sets.
“It depends on the lead actor and the director. For a big star, a colourful set is a must to shoot a few songs as it makes a difference to the film,” says producer Dil Raju. He added that sometimes when they can’t find the right house or location, they have to opt for a set, even if it costs a bomb. “For Brundavanam, we scanned many places but couldn’t find the ideal house, so we opted for a set,” he adds.
In S/O Satyamurthy, starring Allu Arjun, the second half is shot at a big house. “In the film, the house was supposed to be near the Chennai seashore. We did find one but it was very congested, so we then chose to build a set in Hyderabad,” says Ravinder Reddy, one of T’wood’s top art directors.
“We brought big trees from Kadiyam village near Rajahmundry and wood from Delhi to build the house,” he says. The cost of this set was nearly Rs 1.5 crore which was, in fact, far less than what it would have cost the production house to go and shoot in Chennai.
Most of these sets are dismantled once the shoot is done while some are used for other film shoots. The set that Reddy had created for Maryada Ramanna in 2009 still exists and hundreds of other films are shot there.
“When I made Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu, I couldn’t go to a village with two big stars along with hundreds of artistes, technicians and helpers. So I opted for a set and the house still exists at RFC,” says Dil Raju, adding that a lot depends on the art director to create the right feel and atmosphere.
“If the movie is set in a village and needs to be shot for many days, then it’s better to go to a village, as you can never get the same natural feel on a set. If it is an indoor scene, you’d rather opt for a set,” says Ravinder Reddy.
Sometimes these sets remain as major attractions. In Okkadu, the set replicating Charminar was a highlight, so was the Madhura Meenakshi temple in Arjun. In Badrinath, they created a replica of the famous Badrinath temple and though the film flopped, people appreciated the sets.
“Charminar was an integral part of my story. Since we couldn’t shoot at the real monument for so many days, we had to create its replica and it worked for us. We could shoot peacefully ,” says Okkadu’s director Gunasekhar.
He added that many believed that they shot the film around the real monument.
If you look at the recent Telugu films, you’ll notice huge sets in most of the movies. Nagarjuna’s Soggade Chinni Nayana, too, had a set replicating a big house, which costed '60 lakh. Even his son Akhil’s debut film Akhil had a big set constructed in Hyderabad.
“They shot a part of the movie in South Africa. But after some time, it wasn’t possible for them to continue shooting there for various reasons. So we constructed a set that gave a similar feel in Hyderabad,” says art director A.S. Prakash.
