Pravalya Duddupudi, the multi-disciplinary artist who designed sets for ‘Gaami’

Pravalya Duddupudi, an artist and production designer of the Telugu film Gaami, discusses her journey in the film industry and the creative challenges.

“I was confident that I could count on my painting skills,” says Pravalya Duddupudi, while discussing a rough patch in her professional sphere when she looked for freelance work as an artist to supplement her income. The Hyderabad-based multi-disciplinary artist, skilled in calligraphy, painting, sculpture and interior design, made the audience and the Telugu film industry take note of her production design for the film Gaami. Her work did not end with designing nearly a dozen sets. The film’s title logo, symbolic of the yin and yang of the circle of life, and the calligraphy of text inserts such as ‘14 days to malapatra (magic mushrooms)’, accompanied by imagery, were her handiwork. 

In a freewheeling conversation at a cafe in Hyderabad, Pravalya talks about handling multiple responsibilities fuelled by the creative urge. “For a year, I barely slept a few hours. I had a day job (at an interior design firm) and worked on the film late evenings and nights. The dopamine rush kept me going. I don’t know if I can pull off something like that again, unless a script interests me.”

The 28-year-old is among the handful of female production designers in Telugu cinema. Gaami was the first film she signed, and since it had been in the making for a few years, the films she took on later, Ashoka Vanamlo Arjuna Kalyanam and Ustaad, were released earlier.

Pravalya says her artistic inclination came naturally since her grandfather used to paint and her father is adept at calligraphy. Her father being in the Indian Army, she spent her childhood in different cities before they moved to Visakhapatnam. Though she took the entrance examination for MBBS, she knew she was not cut out for it. 

Around that time, she learnt about the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT). “Initially, I did not discuss it with my parents. But I had to tell them when I had to travel to Hyderabad for the final tests and counselling. They were concerned if the fashion industry would be appropriate for me.” It took some prodding and convincing, with the help of a close relative, and they relented. They were also apprehensive when she began working on film sets. “Today, they are proud of what I have done for Gaami.”

Pravalya recalls her first experience of designing a film set in 2019. She was just out of NIFT Hyderabad, where she was in the lifestyle and accessories design department. “My friend (actor) Aditi Myakal said the film unit she was working for was looking for someone to design a set. I met the producer, who told me they needed a set that looked like the interiors of a club but had a limited budget. I designed it in three days.” It opened new doors. Karthik Sabareesh, the producer of Gaami, met her on the sets and later asked if she would work on his film.

“I knew nothing about the film industry and did not know whom to trust,” says Pravalya. She visited Karthik’s office and noticed that it was teeming with men. She was nervous until she met director Vidyadhar Kagita and his co-writer Pratyush. “From the images they had, I understood they were onto something different. I noticed a printed map that shows Vishwak Sen the direction to the magical mushrooms in the Himalayas. A printed map was not in synergy with the world they were trying to create. I offered to give them a hand painted, dyed and aged map.” Then, she worked on a scroll and a book they handed her. Impressed with her artistic skills, the team asked if she could help design and construct sets for the film.