Bollywood: Making Production Designing Her Calling

She wanted to be an architect but became a photojournalist in Mumbai. For Meenal Agarwal, 52, now a production designer, it was her interest in narrative photography that led her to explore backgrounds. She then worked in advertising before deciding to return to photography. But the world of photography had changed by then: the Digital had arrived. In the meanwhile, Agarwal had married Rajat Kapoor, an actor and director, and also had a daughter. At the time, Kapoor was making Raghu Romeo, and Agarwal became a continuity photographer.

“I didn’t think I’d give up on photography,” she says.

But by this time, she had been out in the world, and when she saw the film’s sets, she started suggesting a few changes and a few additions, one of which came from a house that she had seen in rural Maharashtra where the ceilings were covered in gift paper. Thus began her interest in production design. Later, Kapoor tried to rope her in as the production designer for Mithya, a film that released in 2008. But that did not work out as planned.

Then, Mixed Doubles came along.

Agarwal is now an established production designer and is known for her work in Ankhon Dekhi (2013), Pari (2018) and Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015).

In her workspace in Bandra, there is a medley of things that were used in various films. Like an old high backed bench and a chandelier that hangs in the doorway. For her, it was also important to break free from being known as ‘the wife of Rajat Kapoor’ which meant having to deal with a lot of egotistic people.

“Production design is storytelling except you get to control things. You do it subliminally. Even though it is a very important part of storytelling, it isn’t respected enough still,” she says. For instance, even in the hierarchy of vanity vans, production designers still don’t have access to it.

“I hope it gets the respect it deserves,” she says.

(This appeared in the print edition as "Finding Her Calling")