Interview: Karuna Karmarkar

It is said art is like beauty. Only the beholder’s eye can truly judge what is beautiful to it. Equally so, what is one man’s garbage is another man’s art exhibit. The question is then begged – is your sexual orientation an art?

For the time being, Karuna Karmarkar is not trying to answer that question. Instead, she faced a far greater question – how to design the production set of The Art of Being Straight within a tight budget yet still compliment the mood of the newly released independent film. Perhaps it was less of a question and more of a challenge. Yet, it was a challenge the UCLA Film and Theater graduate was willing to take on.

“It was definitely a challenge because we had a small budget,” Karmarkar said of her debut as a production designer for The Art of Being Straight, which screens today at the Laemmle Music Hall Theater in Beverly Hills. “[The cost] is a problem, across-the-board, for all indies, [but] I love independent film and would love to work on some more independent projects in the future.”

If her work on The Art of Being Straight has a say in her future, Karmarkar will probably go places. Yet, it was how she got here to begin with that is truly indicative of the potential she has to succeed as a production designer and eventually find a place for herself working with independent filmmakers.

“I got involved with the production (of The Art of Being Straight) quite spontaneously,” she candidly told Buzzine in an exclusive interview, explaining how she just reached out to a few people within her network of contacts before finally being put in touch with the production crew of what became her design debut with the independent flick. “They needed someone to help with design and set. They brought me on board and gave me a few suggestions but it was pretty much me just taking the ball and running with it.”

Just like a running back that relies upon his nose for the end zone to navigate through a forest of linebackers and safeties, Karmarkar used her penchant for set designs, combined with her practical networking skills, to ultimately create a plan for art direction that worked for the film yet stayed with in budget. Among the suggestions made to Karmarkar was to design the apartment of one of the lead characters with a pop-oriented theme. She ended up using a lot of Andy Warhol items and other modern designs to complement the character.

Ultimately, much her work entailed procuring materials in the most creative way possible, such as borrowing costumes or making some of the set dressing items. Karmarkar was given a lot of room to be creative, yet at the same time was constrained by budgetary issues, forcing her to ultimately be somewhat conservative in terms of just working with whatever she found. Alas, her mentality, keen sense of creativity and resourcefulness saved the day.

“It was very fluid,” she added. “I had a lot of freedom, but they gave me some jumping off points. The Art of Being Straight was a joy to work on, the cast and crew was really professional and totally involved in their craft.”

Thankfully, in honing in on her craft and profession, Karmarkar has experience being creative and resourceful. Growing up in Santa Cruz County – a region in Northern California known for breeding creative talent – Karmarkar found her way to UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Design. She also found time to attend the university’s School of Media Arts. As a student, she studied design, though UCLA never officially offered a specific program on production design. Accordingly, Karmarkar had to learn a lot on the fly after completing her studies, relying on the overall theories of design taught to her in school and her overall penchant for what looks good.

Since, she has used her talents and know-how on a commercial campaign for Crave Foods and a couple music videos ((one for Mercury Prize nominated Gemma Hayes and one for indie band The Old Ceremony). Karmarkar also honed in on her production design skills by accepting relevant roles on numerous student films with AFI and UCLA.

Also an avid photographer, Karmarkar labels herself as a “jack-of-all-trades.” In addition to her production work, she currently works at MySpace, where makes creative contributions to the photography department but also assists with business development.

“I really get to be creative at work,” she excitedly told Buzzine.

A photography buff since high school, Karmarkar says her experience with the camera really helps her with production design.

“(Photography) was one of the few subjects I truly enjoyed (in school),” she said. “It really has helped me production design-wise. What you learn in production designer is you are designing for a frame – the visual, the color schemes, the look and feel of the film. You really learn to be detail-oriented.”

However, this week, Karmarkar will focus less on being detail-oriented and more on enjoying watching her designs and creativity come to life on the big screen. As the film will soon be on DVD and distributed worldwide, odds are this will not Karmarkar’s only project, especially with South Asians playing a greater role in Hollywood productions.

“I think Hollywood is truly becoming more international,” she humbly said. “Now we see a lot more television shows that have more of a diverse cast that represents the demographic of America. With the victory of Slumdog Millionaire at this year’s Oscar’s, I think the whole notion that you can only sell an all-white film is gone by the wayside.”

With one feature-length film already under her belt, one thing that will not go to the wayside is the influence Karmarkar will continue to have on designing sets. To appreciate the work she put into her debut project, be sure to check out more information about The Art of Being Straight at its website. You can also visit Karuna’s website to view more of her creative designs and personal work.