Thota Tharani


Thota Tharani is an Indian film art director and production designer who has predominantly worked in Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam cinema and Bollywood. As of 2013, he has won two National Film Awards, two Filmfare Awards South and four Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. His work consists of paintings, murals, paper collages, wooden montages, and installations and so on.

Film career

Thota Tharani has been involved in the art of set design since he was just twelve when he helped his father. His work in the films Nayakan and Indian earned him National Film Awards. His works include construction of a huge set replica of the Madurai Meenakshi Temple for the Telugu movie Arjun, Dasavathaaram, Kanthaswamy and Leader. He has worked in more than 100 feature films as a production designer, including three foreign productions: Pondichéry, dernier comptoir des Indes, Hanuman and Branchie. His expertise in magnificent and larger than life sets has been well appreciated and awarded. His realistic sets for Nayagan are awe inspiring and the grandeur of the sets he created for Thiruda Thiruda and Mudhalvan added to the flavour of the films.
In addition to being an art director, Thota Tharani has worked as a Production designer and in the art department of various films.

Background

Thota Tharani completed his Graduate Diploma in Mural Painting in 1971 and subsequently was offered a Fellowship from the Government of France to study print-making. Additionally, he completed print making courses from the Royal College of Art in London and New Delhi.

Awards

Civilian honours
National Film Award for Best Art Direction
Nandi Award for Best Art Director
Kerala State Film Award for Best Art Director
Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Art Director
Vijay Award for Best Art Director