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Monday, June 14, 2004 |
 NEW DELHI, India -- The embroidered robes in "Troy," the props and flags in Oliver Stone's "Alexander the Great," the intricate embroidery on the 400-meter stage curtain in the upcoming "The Phantom of the Opera" -- all came from Rangarsons, a family-run business located in New Delhi's central business district.
Paramjit Singh Rana and his son Manjot say they got their start as a "peculiar" business, supplying military ceremonial products, accouterments and musical instruments to the Indian army. For nearly 50 years they have supplied products to various overseas buyers, from the Tanzanian army to the Canadian police and the Queen of England's own guards.
But their Hollywood break came with Richard Attenborough's 1982 epic "Gandhi," when one of the film's costume designers, John Mollo, walked into Rangarsons while on a scouting mission. "John saw the various products on display and realized he could source all the costumes and props for the British army in the film," Manjot recalls.
That break led to more work throughout the decade, when a spate of productions with colonial backdrops were filmed in India.
The Rangarsons have recently graduated into Hollywood's big league, thanks to their work for Ridley Scott's "Gladiator" under the supervision of set decorator Crispin Sallis. The ornate embroidery on banners, flags and curtains and the valances in the arena fight sequences were a major production. "We sent a flag design, and Ridley Scott liked it so much he ordered 500 pieces," Paramjit says.
For the upcoming Scott production "Kingdom of Heaven," props required by set decorator Sonja Klaus include massive banners, 20 feet long by four feet wide. "This involved intricate embroidery work, something that can only be done in India given the variety of craftsmen and the cheap cost of labor," says Manjot, who also supplied buttons and cuff links for the costumes of 5,000 extras in the film.
Each morning, artisans and embroiderers come to Rangarsons to pick up their assignments, which are farmed out according to job requirements. "Because we have access to a variety of sources, if you give me a design in the morning and want it by the evening, I can deliver," says a confident Paramjit, whose interest in art and history drew him into the profession.
Father and son praise the professionalism of international productions. "The attention to detail and the precise schematic drawings are such a big help," says Manjot, who rattles off studio names and those of costume and set designers much like a Hollywood agent. For the upcoming Jackie Chan starrer "Around the World in 80 Days," the Rangarsons were asked to supply 200 props worth more than $100,000 to re-create a street in Agra, home of the Taj Mahal, for a set built in Thailand. "This required us to source antique doorways, windows, benches, lamps and fabrics, which you'll see in (just) a five-minute sequence," Manjot says.
Even with all the acclaim for their film work, the Rangarsons are equally proud of their association with the 45 regiments of the Indian army.
"Every year, during the annual Republic Day parade (on Jan. 26), almost 70% of the ceremonial attire and instruments are supplied by us," says a proud Paramjit. Perhaps that is equivalent to winning an Oscar.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter |
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