BOISHALI SINHA: THE MAGICIAN BEHIND THE MAGIC OF FILM SETS

Salt City, which was released on June 16 is an encapsulating drama that captures the attention of the viewers not only through its performances but the significant set designs that tell a story of their own. The magician who worked this magic was none other than Boishali Sinha who was among the production designers to work on the project. Boishali, a wellknown name in production design and art direction, talked to City First about her experience with Salt City, her role behind the cameras and more.

Talking about working in Salt City, she said, “The experience was great! Generally, in films what we do is that we take actual locations and then we do prop ups. But here there were actual sets. Some were created overnight as well. I remember there was a scene of a mud bath and then another pole dance. So, we recreated the same set within 12 hours. It was a whole transformation. The series marks my first project where I did multiple setups within five to six weeks. It was an entirely different world that we had created.”
She added, “I started my career with Rowdy Rathore and there were mostly outdoor locations. Most of my projects were the same because people prefer to make lesser sets. But Salt City was different as it required intricate details and had very well thought of multiple setups.”

She further called the cast and crew of the series a family. “It was an interesting project for me. I worked with all different kinds of people including Divyendu, Gauahar Khan, Pranay Pachauri, Navni Ma’am and of course, Piyush sir. They were like a family for four-five months,” she said.

Boishali stated that she did not plan on becoming a production designer or art director and it was something that just happened. Adding on how the world views the career, she said, “People are not aware of the many career choices that fine arts offer but it is gradually developing. Earlier, people did not have knowledge about career choices and in filmmaking, many still don’t. With my exposure to the media, I try to put it through people. There is an academy that I have opened in Greater Noida where we teach filmmaking and theatre.”
 

Mentioning her favourite projects, Boishali named Rowdy Rathore but also added that every project she worked on has its own memories. She said, “Working with Akshay in Rowdy Rathore or Prabhu sir or working in Bhansali productions for the first time was special. But also working with Neeraj sir in Special 26 was a good experience. Your thought process and everything changes with every project which makes every experience different. Salt City is also close to me because we worked really hard for this one.” Boishali mentioned her desire to work in the South film industry. “I have worked in almost every genre in Bollywood. But I really wish to work in the South films as I want to immerse myself in their work culture.”