An earthquake proof set worth Rs 12 crore!

Is your building earthquake proof? Not many will be able to answer in the positive, but Ashutosh Gowariker can claim that even for a structure as temporary as the set of his film ‘Jodha Akbar’.

This is just one aspect of many that went into the making of what is probably one of the most expensive sets created in the history of Bollywood.

Art director Nitin Desai, while recounting the hours of research that went into constructing the ‘Jodha Akbar’ set says, “We had teams doing research for more than six months on the kind of 16th century architecture that would have been prevalent in those days. We built an entire fort in exactly the way that it was built in the 16th century, but what took them 33 years, we had to complete in 3 months.”

Obviously, something like this would cost a lot. The entire set is said to worth more than Rs 12 crore, which is around a fourth of the movie’s budget.

Jodha’s chamber itself, which is made with intricate wall carvings, heavy curtains and fibreglass paintings, is said to have cost over Rs one crore.

Even the weapons used in the war scenes have been made of fibreglass, rubber and wood, so that the chances of anyone getting hurt were minimal.

“Obviously, to take such precautions as making the set earthquake proof, intricate carvings and still maintaining a realistic feel was a tough job. But we think we have reached international standards with the films. The only sad thing is that we will have to break it all down,” laughs Nitin.