| Set designer of teleserials Kkusum, Saas Bhi Kabhi..., Kasauti, to give desi touch to songs | ||
| BIJOY KR. SHARMA | ||
Dhubri, Oct. 26: Art director Satyen Choudhury has spiced up many hit Bollywood films and TV serials with elaborate sets which tell half the story by themselves. A son of the soil — Choudhury hails from Dhubri in Assam — is going international and his art will now grace a music video by singer-composer Jermaine Jackson, brother of the king of pop, Michael Jackson. Choudhury today confirmed over phone from Mumbai that shooting for the album has begun in Mumbai but he refused to reveal its name, which is a practice adopted by international music stars to create the much needed hype. The album will be released in December. The 45-year-old Choudhury — one of the most renowned art directors in India now — said the album is being made in English and Hindi with Adnan Sami singing the Hindi songs. “It was a wonderful experience working with an international star in the true sense and I enjoyed doing art for the album,” Choudhury added. Sami and Jackson will be seen together in one of the videos titled Let’s go to Mumbai city. The song will feature some of the most popular landmarks in the city like the Gateway of India, CST and Haji Ali. Jermaine Jackson, the fourth of the Jackson brothers, is a singer, bassist and composer with many hits to his name. When Michael Jackson passed away on June 25 this year, Jermaine sang Michael's favourite song Smile by Charles Chaplin as a tribute at a public memorial service held on July 7 in Los Angeles. Choudhury, who shifted base to Mumbai in 1987, said he had tried to give a “contemporary yet desi look” to the sets for the album. He said the 55-year-old Jermaine Jackson enlisted his services after hearing about his “wonderful job” in many films and TV serials. Choudhury’s work includes tele-serials like Kkusum, Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Reporter, Kasauti Zindagi Ki and Sajan Ghar Jana while some of well-known films include Mahesh Bhatt’s Gunaah, Tinu Verma’s Ma Tujhe Salam staring Sunny Deol, and Sins starring Shiney Ahuja. Beside these, Choudhury also has to his credit art direction in other music albums for Malaysian singers Nur Sujana and Roma Irama. Choudhury, who was a passion-driven young artist, first tried his hand at fine arts at the Biswa Bharati Fine Art College in Bolpur. But he soon realised that his dreams lay elsewhere, in becoming a film art director. He then joined a five-year commercial art course at the J.J. Institute of Applied Arts in Mumbai which gave him the base to work his way through in the highly competitive world in the Mumbai film industry. Choudhury said while it was tough to find a footing in Mumbai, “it is tougher to stay put because of the competition”. Replying to a question on his upcoming projects, Choudhury — who is settled with his wife Debjani Roy Choudhury in Mumbai — said there were many “an exciting project” and the “people of Assam will know about them very soon”. |
| Set designer of teleserials Kkusum, Saas Bhi Kabhi..., Kasauti, to give desi touch to songs | ||
| BIJOY KR. SHARMA | ||
Dhubri, Oct. 26: Art director Satyen Choudhury has spiced up many hit Bollywood films and TV serials with elaborate sets which tell half the story by themselves. A son of the soil — Choudhury hails from Dhubri in Assam — is going international and his art will now grace a music video by singer-composer Jermaine Jackson, brother of the king of pop, Michael Jackson. Choudhury today confirmed over phone from Mumbai that shooting for the album has begun in Mumbai but he refused to reveal its name, which is a practice adopted by international music stars to create the much needed hype. The album will be released in December. The 45-year-old Choudhury — one of the most renowned art directors in India now — said the album is being made in English and Hindi with Adnan Sami singing the Hindi songs. “It was a wonderful experience working with an international star in the true sense and I enjoyed doing art for the album,” Choudhury added. Sami and Jackson will be seen together in one of the videos titled Let’s go to Mumbai city. The song will feature some of the most popular landmarks in the city like the Gateway of India, CST and Haji Ali. Jermaine Jackson, the fourth of the Jackson brothers, is a singer, bassist and composer with many hits to his name. When Michael Jackson passed away on June 25 this year, Jermaine sang Michael's favourite song Smile by Charles Chaplin as a tribute at a public memorial service held on July 7 in Los Angeles. Choudhury, who shifted base to Mumbai in 1987, said he had tried to give a “contemporary yet desi look” to the sets for the album. He said the 55-year-old Jermaine Jackson enlisted his services after hearing about his “wonderful job” in many films and TV serials. Choudhury’s work includes tele-serials like Kkusum, Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Reporter, Kasauti Zindagi Ki and Sajan Ghar Jana while some of well-known films include Mahesh Bhatt’s Gunaah, Tinu Verma’s Ma Tujhe Salam staring Sunny Deol, and Sins starring Shiney Ahuja. Beside these, Choudhury also has to his credit art direction in other music albums for Malaysian singers Nur Sujana and Roma Irama. Choudhury, who was a passion-driven young artist, first tried his hand at fine arts at the Biswa Bharati Fine Art College in Bolpur. But he soon realised that his dreams lay elsewhere, in becoming a film art director. He then joined a five-year commercial art course at the J.J. Institute of Applied Arts in Mumbai which gave him the base to work his way through in the highly competitive world in the Mumbai film industry. Choudhury said while it was tough to find a footing in Mumbai, “it is tougher to stay put because of the competition”. Replying to a question on his upcoming projects, Choudhury — who is settled with his wife Debjani Roy Choudhury in Mumbai — said there were many “an exciting project” and the “people of Assam will know about them very soon”. |
