When audiences first saw Suriya in the posters of Vishwanath and Sons, the grandeur reminded many of the suave and stoic businessman Sanjay Ramasamy in Ghajini (2005). Two decades later, as Suriya strapped into the role of billionaire businessman and Olympian Sanjay Vishwanath, nothing really changed except the opulence of the world inhabited by the newer version. Designing that world of abundance is Banglan, a National Award-winning production designer. "In Vishwanath and Sons, we gave luxury a new look. The objective was to give luxury a new language even by way of the most negligible shapes and colours," says Banglan.
Banglan has worked across various genres, including science fiction, period dramas, and fantasy thrillers. On working on a romantic drama like Vishwanath and Sons, Banglan says, "We did not have to focus much on the love drama aspect of the story as the characters themselves had enough to offer. In the case of Suriya's house, we have always shown rich people living in houses with lots of glass windows. We particularly wanted to change that prevalent idea. So in order to be different, we went with a Spanish style."
The creation of Sanjay Vishwanath's bungalow came at an intersection of real locations, sets, and CGI. "While the house shown in the flashback portions was a real house in Hyderabad, we had to alternate between two sections of shooting floors in Hyderabad for the interiors of Sanjay Vishwanath's house. The use of CGI came in to match the interior and exterior portions, as the lawn and the outhouse and the entire exterior shots were real locations," says Banglan, as he explains that this extensive planning was to balance the effect of light and dark. "We wanted the house to look calm and quiet. So you would be able to clearly see the separation of the subject and the environment, without distraction. We also wanted a lot of natural light to come into the house, so we had to use minimal artificial lighting, like small tube lights and bulbs. So even when Radikaa Sarathkumar and Mamitha Baiju were sitting in the living room, you could see a beam of light coming in and adding to the scene."
The decisions on the calm outlook of Vishwanath and Sons also came into play during discussions for costumes. "We did not want any loud colours for the lead or for the surroundings. We wanted very pastel and neutral colours throughout the film." This decision also led Banglan to draw inspiration from a real location for the look of a portion of the film. "When we were shooting in Ooty for the wedding portions, we took the house as a reference for how the colours should be. So the brick red colour of the colonial bungalow became an inspiration for costumes and sets for that portion of the story, which also had a vignette style."
For Banglan, the road to Vishwanath and Sons was laid out in 2021. "I was able to work with Venky Atluri on Lucky Baskhar (2024) because I was suggested to him by Dulquer Salmaan, with whom I worked on Kurup (2021). So when Venky was planning for his next film, he called me," says the production designer, who shares that he has developed a relationship with the director that went beyond the professional zone. "Though we worked together on a project, our friendship transcended beyond that, and because we sustained the friendship between projects, we were able to have more trust the second time around," says Banglan.
Banglan continues to branch out in multiple languages for his upcoming projects. The production designer is in pre-production for a project each in Telugu and Hindi. Reflecting on telling stories through his craft, Banglan confesses, "More than the styles of the production designs, I am much more interested in the depth and emotion of the story. I am particular in not wanting the colours and shapes of the sets to hinder the emotions of a particular scene." This zeal in preserving the emotions of a story also extends to the projects he wants to work on. Speaking about the type of projects he wants to work on in the future, Banglan says, "Looking forward I would like to work on a very stylish movie, with a light story. Personally, I don't like to watch any action or thriller. I prefer very calm and quiet films, with a pleasant outlook."
