Picture by Amit Roy

Omung Kumar, OK to the film industry, stands for visual opulence. From Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Black to Saawariya to the French opera Padmavati, Omung has created one design treat after another. The 40-year-old former TV show host is now painting the magical backdrop to the Indian productions of Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist.

A t2 chat...

What was Bhansali’s brief to you for Padmavati?

Padmavati happened at the same time as Saawariya. We worked simultaneously on both. Sanjay was aware that I had designed the sets for the musical City of Dreams, apart from a lot of stage and TV shows, which involved complete set changes. Sanjay wanted Padmavati to be rich and real but abstract and extraordinary. We had to do some background study. I took along painters and two of my supervisors to create the sets in Paris.

And then you recreated Jodhpur royalty in Paris...

The show starts with a sketch of Ganapati on black gauze. You see a trishul opening up to the sky, the moon comes down with pillars and a jhula. That’s Padmavati’s chamber. Focus shifts to a huge three-storey balcony that depicts the façade of a palace of sandstone and matte gold. Ten lotuses descend over the stage and change into the sun. We’ve used a lot of vibrant contrasts and earthy tones with shimmer, detailing and painted puppets. There are mirrors and stuff that pop in and out. It feels crazy at times.

In the second half you find a red backdrop projected on a white background to create a splatter of blood when Padmavati kills her husband. Then there are hands that are projected to go up on the white background.... In theatre it’s the sets and lights that determine everything. The dimensions have to keep changing so that the drama pulls you in.

How is designing for stage different from films?

Theatre is live, it needs to be dramatic and you can’t make mistakes. It’s a different high. Films are easier but need to be completely detailed because they stay for life.... People come to me expecting something larger than life. I design with one focal point that makes the set memorable. Not just shimmer and LED lights but what you see bang on when you look at the screen or stage is what makes a difference.

What are your plans for The Alchemist?

I’m treating everything with brushstrokes in The Alchemist. It’s a storybook unfolding with gimmicks on simple traditional sets. You leaf through the backgrounds just like you would turn the pages of a book. The story demands moving from a church to the deserts to an African bazaar with oases and pyramids. The play itself will travel in India and abroad. The tough job is to change sets so fast.

I’ve gone back in time when theatres and operas would have painted curtains. In The Alchemist I am using layers of sheer curtain with paintings and backlight that can be put up in very short time. There’s a background and a foreground. Rest of the stage is bare for a raw and earthy look. It has an ornate photo frame feel with a central curtain to determine the background. The foreground is like a tea stand on wheels. Characters can simply wheel in their individual backdrop as they enter and exit. There’ll be UV lights and fans to create sun and wind effects.

TV show host to set designer — how did the transition happen?

I studied commercial art and I was good at illustrations, so design became my forte. Modelling and hosting shows was what I thought I was meant for till I stepped in as anchor and set designer for the Ek Minute game show. Thereafter, I worked as creative director for HTA and then started my own set designing company Blue Lotus Productions. I started designing for films.

Black and Saawariya gave you recognition...

Na Tum Jaano Na Hum was my first film after which I worked on Ishq Vishq and others. Then came Black and Saawariya. Black helped me graduate from young and colourful sets to serious cinema. Shimla had no snow when we went to shoot for Black. We had to set up everything at Kamalistan Studios, creating snow with salt, soap water and rangoli.

Saawariya was even more challenging because it’s difficult to produce something people haven’t seen. Sanjay wanted a perfect town that doesn’t exist. It had to be magical. Ten different sets were created but a one-tone quality helped blend in the painted walls, painted floors, windows, bridges and gondolas to create a land of fairy tales.

Any international stage offers after Padmavati?

Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, where Padmavati was staged, wanted me to work for them but that needed me to settle there and I can’t do that now. I am getting ready for my West End show to be staged in end-2009. It’s a huge Indian musical for the first time in London’s West End. My wife Vanita has written the story and both of us will direct it. We’ve been working on the project for more than a year. It will have a foreign cast and crew.... I am also planning to direct a film.