“We try to celebrate the traditional art mediums as much as the new technological breakthroughs.”
Ekta Bhattacharya is so pretty that you might mistake her for an actress. And this, without a touch of make-up on her pretty face. She has evolved from an artist-as-hobby to a sole woman who has founded her own company of design called Ekta Creative Tales based in Kolkata. She is a designer par excellence who designs imaginative and contextually relevant film posts, book jackets, and so on for films in West Bengal and now, much beyond Kolkata. She opens out on a one-to-one with Shoma A. Chatterji about her rise as a single woman running an entire designing concern all on her own.
Let us know about your interest in art from the beginning.
I was inclined towards painting and illustrations from my very childhood. Like most parents ask their kids whether they are interested in dancing or singing, when my parents asked me the same, I was insistent on learning painting. I was fascinated by sketches and various derivations of this art form and I guess that is what helped in growing my love towards it.
How and what made you begin as a self-employed entrepreneur instead of opting for the safe security of a job with an ad agency or an art studio?
Ever since I realised by knack and passion for this art field, I have been a freelancer. I knew I did not want to be confined in the cubicle culture of working in a company or under anyone. But things were not smooth sailing to begin with. I was almost at the verge of leaving this city when I got the opportunity to go for higher education at one of the leading management colleges in this country. It was then that prominent actor and thespian Phalguni Chatterjee, who was familiar with my art work through social media, talked me out of it and convinced me to refocus on my art and trust my intuition. Slowly, I began with theatre poster designing. I was not sure then about the nature of work or remuneration but the workflow was steady. Soon, there were short film and feature film projects. To process all this I decided to found my own agency and build my own team. That is how Ekta Creative Tales began its journey in 2013. Since then we have ventured into various formats of designing.
Why have you named your concern Ekta Creative Tales?
From the time I ventured into professional designing back in 2013, I wanted my name to reflect on the artwork, flyers and posters, as part of artist’s identity. When the workflow began rising, I had to build a team and an agency of my own. People who collaborated with me and trusted my craft suggested that I incorporate my own name ‘Ekta’ in my company title and logo to create wider visibility and brand integrity. And I included ‘tales’ because our aim is inclined towards storytelling through every design we work on. Soon, Ekta Creative Tales became a prominent icon on most of the film posters, event hoardings and associate sponsor credits.
How would you rank your assignments in a list of preference? Short films posters, theatre posters, feature film posters, vfx, etc. and why?
As an artist, I cannot rank or grade my design formats because each medium has its own appeal and authentic charm. Each has a narrative of its own. But since I am a cine lover to the core, film poster designing have a special place in my heart.
What criteria do you look for while accepting an assignment – (a) money, (b) time given (c) production banner (d) rapport with the client (e) the subject of the assignment for films, plays et al?
Initially, when I started to work I had no clue about the right remuneration to charge so I usually accepted the offer price. But if you ask me in 2023, I would say all of the stated factors matter. But even if I get a good amount of money from a client who I am not comfortable working with, I try to avoid that. Because, for me, a creative comfort zone, rapport and ethical wavelength also matter. I need to understand the theme, visualisation of the story when I am getting the script narration before a project is assigned. Of late, I have learnt to say ‘no’ more often which I did not do earlier.
You are a completely self-trained designer and artist. Do you feel the lack of training at any point? Please explain.
I would not exactly say that I am untrained. My school art teachers played a significant role in shaping my knack for art. I have no certificate or formal degree from any government or private art institution. I think, if you are driven by your ambition and creative sense, then formal training is not a mandate. I learnt along my profession. YouTube design tutorials and reading a lot of designing books and journals on current illustration trends and techniques have been a great guide for me in learning about the nuances and intricacies of publicity design.
How do you define art and designing linking it to your kind of work?
Though what we do is considerably commercial but me and my team’s core intuition is to always uphold the aesthetics of every art form. We try to celebrate the traditional art mediums as much as the new technological breakthroughs.
Please mention five of your best feature film poster assignments till date and list them in your order of preference.
Though, like I said, I don’t grade my work according to preference, but some projects leave a great emotional aftertaste. My top five would be Kedara, Nirbhaya, Kolkata Chalantika, Swastik Sanket and Mahalaya.
You said you ask for the script of a film before you begin working on it. Please explain why and the same for book covers.
Yes. I demand for the script or the theme of the book I’m designing because I need to understand the premise. A filmmaker gets two to two- and-a-half hours to establish a film and an author gets more than 200 to 300 pages to narrate his story. But, a designer gets just one canvas to portray the entire essence of the narrative. So, knowing the nuances, the aesthetics, the conflicts and the nature of the characters help me to encompass the subject matter.
Where do you see yourself five years from now?
I see myself running the same company with a bigger team, with more challenging projects, expanding our VFX wing in a grand way in this city, bringing back a lot of creators and artists in Kolkata who had left the city, aiming to generate more employment in the art and creative field. Also, we have completed producing and executing our first TVC for a reputed hospital. I have conceptualised the entire thing. Hence, I am looking forward to produce more good contents in future.
Shoma A. Chatterji is a freelance journalist, film scholar and author. She has authored 17 published titles and won the National Award for Best Writing on Cinema, twice. She won the UNFPA-Laadli Media Award, 2010 for ‘commitment to addressing and analysing gender issues’ among many awards.