Samir Chanda (1957 – 18 August 2011) was an Indian

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

and

production designer In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...

across

Indian cinema The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Ko ...

, including

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

and

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

, most known for his work in films like '' Yodha'' (1992), '' Dil Se..'' (1998), ''

Guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverentia ...

'' (2007), '' Omkara'' (2006), ''

Rang De Basanti ''Rang De Basanti'' () is a 2006 Indian drama film written, produced and directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, and co-written by Rensil D'Silva. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of Aamir Khan, Siddharth, R. Madhavan, Atul Kulkarni, ...

'' (2006), and '' Raavan'' (2010). He also directed a Bengali film, '' Ek Nadir Galpo'' (2008) starring

Mithun Chakraborty Mithun Chakraborty (born Gouranga Chakraborty; 16 June 1950) is an Indian actor, producer and politician who predominantly worked in Hindi and Bengali language films. He is a former Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament. He is the recipient of three ...

. It was Indian entries for the Asian, African and Latin American Competition segment of the 38th

International Film Festival of India The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. Held annually, currently in the state of Goa, on the western coast of the country, the festival aims at providing a common pla ...

(IFFI), in Goa He was awarded the

National Film Award The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate ...

for

Best Art Direction The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. This change resulted fro ...

four times, including '' Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero'' (2005) directed by

Shyam Benegal Shyam Benegal (born 14 December 1934) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. He has received ...

Career

A trained painter from

Government College of Art & Craft, Kolkata The Government College of Art & Craft (GCAC) in Kolkata is one of the oldest Art colleges in India. It was founded on August 16, 1854 at Garanhata, Chitpur, "with the purpose of establishing an institution for teaching the youth of all classes ...

, he moved to Mumbai and started his career as an assistant to noted art director

Nitish Roy Nitish Roy is an Indian film art director, production designer, and costume designer in Hindi cinema and a Bengali Film Director, who is also known for his work with art cinema directors, Shyam Benegal, Mrinal Sen and Govind Nihlani, Hind ...

working in films like, ''

Mandi Mandi may refer to: Places * Mandı, Azerbaijan India * Mandi, Jammu and Kashmir, a town on the Mandi River in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir * Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, a city in Himachal Pradesh ** Mandi State, former princely sta ...

'' (1983) by

Mrinal Sen Mrinal Sen (''Beng.'' মৃণাল সেন; 14 May 1923 – 30 December 2018) was an Indian film director, and screenwriter known for his work primarily in Bengali, and few Hindi and Telugu language films. Regarded as one of the finest Ind ...

. Subsequently, started handling films independently as art director and production designer, with

Subhash Ghai Subhash may refer to: People * Subhash Agarwal, Indian professional player and coach of English billiards and snooker * Subhash Awchat (born 1960), Indian artist and author based in Mumbai * Subhash Bapurao Wankhede (born 1963), Indian politician ...

's ''

Ram Lakhan ''Ram Lakhan'' is a 1989 Indian Hindi-language masala film directed by Subhash Ghai and written by Anwar Khan with screenplay by Ram Kelkar. ''Ram Lakhan'' stars an ensemble cast of Raakhee, Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Madhuri ...

'' (1989). Over the years he worked with directors like

Sangeeth Sivan Sangeeth Sivan is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Malayalam and Hindi film industries. He is probably best known for directing the 1992 Malayalam film '' Yodha''. Sangeeth Sivan is the eldest son of filmmaker Sivan. His ...

Vishal Bhardwaj Vishal Bhardwaj (born 4 August 1965) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, music composer and playback singer. He is known for his work in Hindi cinema, and is the recipient of seven National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award. Bha ...

Rakesh Omprakash Mehra Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (born 7 July 1963) is an Indian film director, occasional actor and screenwriter. He is best known for writing and directing ''Rang De Basanti'' (2006) and ''Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'' (2013). He is the writer and director of ...

Gautam Ghosh Goutam Ghose (also spelled Gautam Ghosh born 24 July 1950) is an Indian film director, Actor, music director and cinematographer, who works primarily in Bengali cinema. He is the only Indian to have received the "Vittorio Di Sica" Award, Italy ...

and

Mani Ratnam Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Ratnam has won six Nat ...

. For film ''

Delhi-6 ''Delhi-6'' is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Rakesh Omprakash Mehra. The film stars Abhishek Bachchan as an NRI who arrives in India with his ailing grandmother (played by Waheeda Rehman) and begins discovering his roots b ...

'' directed by

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (born 7 July 1963) is an Indian film director, occasional actor and screenwriter. He is best known for writing and directing ''Rang De Basanti'' (2006) and ''Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'' (2013). He is the writer and director of ...

, Chanda recreated inner lanes of

Old Delhi Old Delhi or Purani Dilli is an area in the Central Delhi district of Delhi, India. It was founded as a walled city named Shahjahanabad in 1648, when Shah Jahan (the Mughal emperor at the time) decided to shift the Mughal capital from Agra. Th ...

at Sambhar town in Rajasthan, as it has similar architecture. Later, for some scenes, historic

Jama Masjid A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.* * * * * * * ...

was digitally added to the frame as a backdrop.

Wasiq Khan Wasiq Khan is an Indian production designer and art director, who works in Bollywood. He has two daughters. He is known for his gritty realism in Anurag Kashyap's films such as ''That Girl in Yellow Boots'' (2011) and ''Gangs of Wasseypur'' (201 ...

, who later did ''

Gangs of Wasseypur ''Gangs of Wasseypur'' is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language two-part crime film produced and directed by Anurag Kashyap, and written by Kashyap and Zeishan Quadri. Centered on the coal mafia (Mafia Raj) of Dhanbad, and the underlying power struggle ...

'' (2012) and ''

Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela ''Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela'' () or simply known as ''Ram-Leela'', is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language tragic romantic action film written and directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who also composed its original soundtrack. The film was jointly ...

'' (2013), started his career as an assistant art director with Chanda in films,

's ''

Iruvar ''Iruvar'' () is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language epic political drama film co-written, produced and directed by Mani Ratnam. The film, inspired by the lives of M. Karunanidhi, M. G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa is set against the backdrop of ...

'' (1997) and

's '' Hari-Bhari'' (2000), before starting out on his own. He died in Mumbai on 18 August 2011, at the age of 53. Reportedly, he suffered a drug reaction to a painkiller he had taken for a toothache earlier that day, and suffered a heart attack. He was rushed a hospital in

Malad Malad (Pronunciation: aːlaːɖ is a suburb located in North Mumbai. Malad has a railway station on the Western line (Mumbai Suburban Railway) of the Mumbai Suburban Railway, lying between Kandivali station to the north and Goregaon station t ...

, Mumbai, where he died within an hour.

Filmography

Awards

** 1992:

for ''

Rukmavati Ki Haveli ''Rukmavati Ki Haveli'' (1991) ( en, Rukmavati's Mansion) is an Indian feature film. The film is directed by Govind Nihalani and is based on Federico Garcia Lorca's Spanish play ''The House of Bernarda Alba''. The screenplay is written by Nihalan ...

'' ** 1993: Best Art Direction for ''

Rudaali ''Rudaali'' (pronounced "roo-dah-lee"; ) is a 1993 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Kalpana Lajmi, written by Lajmi and Gulzar and based on a 1979 short story of the same name by Bengali author Mahasweta Devi. Set in a small villag ...

'' ** 2005: Best Art Direction for '' Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero'' ** 2009:Best Art Direction for ''

'' *

Filmfare Award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

** 2007:

for '' Omkara'' ** 2008: Best Art Direction for ''

References

External links

*
Samir Chanda, Filmography
at

Bollywood Hungama Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is a Bollywood entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000. The website provides ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chanda, Samir Indian production designers Indian art directors 1957 births 2011 deaths Government College of Art & Craft alumni University of Calcutta alumni Filmfare Awards winners 20th-century Indian designers Artists from Mumbai 21st-century Indian designers Best Production Design National Film Award winners