 We
all know that Ridley Scott's acclaimed film, Gladiator
has created ripples all over the world and has bagged
five prestigious Oscar Awards, presented recently.
Do we also know that the miraculous sets seen in Gladiator
were created and moulded in India? Yes, a new light
has been thrown on Indians' role in decorating the life-like
sets and costumes for the film. Almost all the sets used
for the film were made in a small village, Timmapur,
near Hyderabad.
Andhrites, especially Hyderabadis, created the
amazing monuments, beautiful palaces, royal arenas, tall
statues and sculptures in a way to reflect the Roman
empire's tradition.  Thanks
to Nitish Roy, internationally renowned bollywood
director, who headed the task of manufacturing these sets
in India and offered one more chance for Indian artists
to expose their creativity to all corners of the globe.
Nitish Roy, the recepient of the National Award for Best
Director three times in bollywood accepted this project
when his friend as well as the Director of Gladiator,
Ridley Scott requested him.
Nitish Roy met the artisans of Timmapur directly and gave
the project contract to them. The artisans of Timmapur
also took the project as a challenge and created the settings
in a manner never before seen in  films.
The unbelievable fact is that the artists, who manufactured
the sets, did not know that they were working for a Hollywood
movie and their works will be seen all over the world.
"For a short period, even I didn't know that my project
was for Gladiator. I just showed some photographs and
pictures of Roman history and basing on them, the artisans
created the sets," said Nitish Roy. Nearly 150 artists
worked continuously for 21 days to finish the project
and manufactured International standard sculptures and
sets. The workers included Carpenters, Moulders, Painters,
Sculptors, and Artists.
 "We
have a strong belief on Indian artists and their talent.
It has once again been proved to all corners of the World
through Gladiator," said Krispon Sethse, Set
Dresser of Gladiator. "We have used Plaster of
Paris, Fibre Glass, Stone and wood to mould the sets and
have invested about 2 crores," said Nitish Roy. "Artists
like Bul Bul Pal and Sunil Pillai of Calcutta,
B. Sunil and S. Tarakesam of Andhra Pradesh
helped me a lot to finish this project successfully,"
he added. |
