Production design is more than just setting the stage for a film—it’s about telling stories through spaces, colors, textures, and objects. Every element in a frame serves as a subtle, visual narrator, conveying mood, time, and character before the first line of dialogue is spoken. For me, as a production designer, inspiration comes not just from art or cinema but from life itself. The everyday world is a treasure trove of ideas, and my role is to translate that into the visual fabric of a film.

Life is full of stories, and each story leaves behind a physical trace—whether it’s the color of the walls in a childhood home, the clutter of a kitchen table, or the dim glow of a streetlamp on a rainy night. These seemingly mundane elements form the backbone of my work. Growing up in Delhi, I was surrounded by layers of history, architecture, and urban landscapes, each telling a different narrative. From the narrow alleys of Old Delhi to the grand colonial structures of Connaught Place, life in the city was an ever-evolving set design that fueled my creative imagination.

The essence of production design is to create spaces that feel lived in and real, even if they’re imaginary. Every set I design is deeply rooted in human experience, and to create these environments, I draw heavily from my observations of how people live, work, and interact with their surroundings. For instance, a character’s home can reveal everything about them—the wear and tear on their furniture, the placement of their books, the color palette they surround themselves with. I always ask myself: What does this space say about its occupant? Is it warm and inviting, cold and minimalistic, or chaotic and cluttered? Life, in all its complexity, gives me those answers.

Beyond observing physical spaces, emotions play an equally significant role in production design. Life is an emotional journey, and the visual world I create needs to echo that journey. A lonely character’s apartment may be sparsely decorated, with muted tones that reflect their internal void, while a joyous family home bursts with colors and textures that convey warmth and love. Every object, down to the smallest detail, tells a story.

My experience working across different genres and mediums has also reinforced how life’s diversity informs design. Working on projects like Rooh on Netflix and the Tribal Wisdom Series docu-project gave me a profound appreciation for cultural storytelling. Designing sets for these films meant tapping into the heritage and lifestyles of communities, ensuring authenticity through props, furniture, and overall aesthetics. These stories, grounded in reality, are a powerful reminder that production design can bring untold narratives to the forefront.

At the heart of it all, production design is a reflection of life—its textures, colors, and moods. As a designer, I am constantly drawing from the world around me, whether it’s the bustling energy of city life or the quiet intimacy of a lived-in space. Each film I work on becomes a canvas where I blend reality with fiction, crafting visual stories that resonate with audiences, because they are, in essence, inspired by life itself.

— Apoorva Choudhary