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Sanjay Leela Bhansali‘s Devdas (2002), starring Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, and Aishwarya Rai in the lead roles, grabbed eyeballs with its opulent and meticulously crafted sets. The film also drew attention for its grand visual aesthetics and extravagant lighting design. In a recent interview, ace cinematographer Binod Pradhan opened up about how all generators in Mumbai were used to light up one scene in Devdas. He also revealed that they had to get more land to set up the generators.
During a chat with Shemaroo Lifestyle, Binod recalled visiting the set with his team and shared, “That was not my fault. That set was made and then I went there with my assistants. I had to go all around the lake to see the set because it wasn’t in just one space. If I am sitting over here, I could see the set right across. So, me and my assistant just took a round and came back. I didn’t know where to start.”
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He added, “So, I said that let’s put a 100-watt bulb inside that tower. That lighting started with that bulb and from there it kept on multiplying until I used all the generators in Bombay. I am not sure if it was wedding season or not.”
In fact, late art director and production designer Nitin Chandrakant Desai had to get more land to set up the generators. “I don’t remember the number of generators, maybe 120. Now, the problem was not just getting the generators, but where do you put them? You need a place to put those generators out of sight, at a place where it’s not part of the set,” he said.
“Nitin had to actually take another land in other places, take the excavators, and level those places so that all the generators could be parked. It wasn’t just getting the generators, but putting them up was a logistical problem,” Binod concluded.
