Bollywood films are now increasingly paying attention to set design. This wasn't always the case. Back in the seventies and eighties, directors often shot scenes in real houses or villages in order to save money. However in the nineties this all changed with producers realising that the more lavish the sets, the greater the potential box office returns. Tabasam Haseen runs the numbers.

As a set designer or art director, it will be up to you to liaise with the director and designer to come up with a definite look for the film. In Bollywood, set designers might also be expected to find suitable locations as backdrops for songs.

Many films are not storyboarded and begin production without a complete script, so thinking on your toes is a definite requirement. It is also important to have some knowledge of Indian history and to be familiar with the varying landscapes within India.

For example, renowned set designer Nitin Desai designed a small, 19th Century Indian village in Bhuj for the Oscar nominated movie Lagaan and a magnificent Bengali mansion for his next movie, the blockbuster Devdas.

Most Bollywood sets are created in Mumbai's vast studios where hundreds of workers create different sets made from materials such as plywood and polystyrene. These sets are then quickly dismantled to make way for another production.

Whereas America is leading the way in computer-generated set design, India is catching up. Bollywood special effects are not up to Hollywood standards but with a wealth of IT professionals, the use of digitally produced set design is growing in India too.

However, the budget for sets are miniscule by Hollywood standards. Devdas, the most expensive Indian film of all time, cost just $7million pounds to make. This does not mean that Bollywood films are any less ornate than their American counterparts.

Indian art directors take advantage of the cheap labour in the country and with inventive prowess can make a makeshift wooden building look like a regal palace.

There are disadvantages to working in India. Health and Safety standards are lax by British standards. In the aforementioned Devdas, a worker was killed when a giant fan overturned and decapitated him. The star Aishwarya Rai narrowly avoided injury herself, when part of the set collapsed!

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