Sabu Cyril created cities for Mani Ratnam

Art director Sabu Cyril's first major success was the Malayalam film, Kaalapani.

His work in films like Kamal Haasan's [ Images ] Hey! Ram and Shankar's Boys have also been impressive.

Like cinematographer Ravi K Chandran, Cyril also worked with Mani Ratnam on his last release, Kannathil Muthamittal.

He tells Shobha Warrier why working on Yuva [ Images ] and Aayutha Ezhuthu was a "challenge" for him.

The director [Mani Ratnam] had drawn three protagonists from three different backgrounds.

I had to create everything differently for each of these characters.

Yuva on Rediff: Showcasing Yuva

I studied each character in depth. I gave them [the three characters] a distinct colour, mood and background to suit their temperament.

The character played by Ajay Devgan [ Images ] [played by Surya in Aayutha Ezhuthu] is a Christian. To create his house, I followed [the arrangement] my own house. I used some of the photographs in my house. The photo of the 'first communion' is very common in a Christian house. You will not find it anywhere else. I placed a lot of plants near the window. The refrigerator [used in the film] is an old Alwyn model.

Siddharth's [played by Vivek Oberoi [ Images ] in Yuva] house is modern with a lot of blue [coloured objects].

On the other hand, Madhavan's [played by Abhishek Bachchan [ Images ] in Yuva] house is rugged. The plastic in the house is rough. The walls are bare.

Shooting in the crowded areas of Kolkata [ Images ] was difficult. I recreated the streets of Kolkata in Chennai. That was a very big challenge.

Unless the work is challenging, we [creative artistes] don't get satisfaction.

Everything about Kolkata had to be correct, including the name boards on the streets. I bought two hand-driven rickshaws from Kolkata and made four more here [in Chennai].

I had to recreate Chennai in Mumbai [ Images ] for the Tamil version [Aayutha Ezhuthu]. We wanted to shoot at the harbour [in Chennai]. We were not given permission. I had to recreate the Chennai harbour in two days.

I do not know if anybody knows this: I recreated Sri Lanka [ Images ] in Kerala [ Images ] for Mani Ratnam's Kannathil Muthamittal.

In Yuva, I constructed a set between two huge European buildings. I transformed one room into six sets. One day, it would be the principal's room, then the library, then a house and then a court.

We also put up a set for a song [Fanaa [ Images ]]. Mani Ratnam was shooting a song on a set after a long time.

It [doing the art direction for Yuva and Aayutha Ezhuthu] was difficult because I had put up a lot of sets in a very short period.

I really enjoyed working with Mani Ratnam. He is very good at heart. I could vibe very well with him.