It took 2 years to for the Devil artwork says Gandhi Nadikudikar

on Sep 4, 2023

Kalyan Ram's upcoming film Devil is a period drama set in India during the Independence 1940's. Art director Gandhi Nadikudikar, known for his work in films like George Reddy, Michael and Rakshasudu, admits it was a challenge to authentically create the era for the ambitious project.

"It's uncommon in Tollywood to encounter a film demanding more than a few set pieces. However, the extensive research for this Devil was quite remarkable" he says Admittedly, the art director drew inspiration from films like Richard Attenborough's Gandhi to understand British-influenced Indian architecture.

It was exciting to get the opportunity to build vehicles for the film. We used iron and fiber to create a vintage car because the original would be too expensive to ship to some of the locations we shot at. We also recreated the interiors of a steam locomotive, a task that required thorough examination and analysis.

Some of the technology used at that time, such as the type of headphones they used, is no longer in use. We recreated antique interiors, including a British-era police station, a courtroom, a jail, an auditorium, and more. Considering the film's heavy reliance on art direction, we would often begin our work ahead of everyone else to ensure everything was set up.

. "It took us two years of pre- production, combing through a lot of books and travelling across the country to pull off the gothic style we needed. A lot of set pieces -from the furniture to the paintings - had to be recreated from scratch."

The movie is being helmed by Naveen Medaram and is bankrolled by Abhishek Pictures. The movie will be a period action spy thriller and it also stars Samyuktha Menon. Devil will be releasing in theatres on November 24th, 2023.