Behind the Scenes: Commercial Shoot in Rajasthan
# Behind the Scenes: Commercial Shoot in Rajasthan
Some shoots test your technical skills. Others test your patience. The textile brand commercial at Bikaner Palace tested everything—my equipment, my crew management abilities, my diplomatic skills with heritage site authorities, and my capacity to stay calm when nothing goes according to plan. With Tamannaah Bhatia as our lead and the stunning Bikaner Palace as our backdrop, it should have been a dream project. Instead, it became a masterclass in commercial filmmaking under pressure.
## The Palace and the Plan
Bikaner Palace isn't just a location—it's a living piece of history with rules, restrictions, and a personality of its own. The textile brand wanted to showcase their latest collection against the grandeur of Rajasthan's royal heritage, and on paper, it made perfect sense. The intricate mirror work, the ornate architecture, the play of light through ancient windows—every frame promised to be a visual feast.
The plan was ambitious: multiple setups across different sections of the palace, costume changes that would highlight the textile range, and enough coverage to give the brand a comprehensive campaign—all in a single day of principal photography.
I had visited the palace two weeks prior for initial scouting, then returned to Mumbai to plan. Coming back two days before the shoot, we conducted our technical recce, finalizing camera positions and logistics. What we hadn't fully planned for was the intensity of executing everything in one day.
## The Team Dynamic
Working with director Appunni Nair felt like having a familiar anchor in unfamiliar waters. We've collaborated on multiple projects over the past 10 years, and that creative shorthand between director and cinematographer becomes invaluable when you're working under tight constraints. Appunni understood my visual language, I knew his storytelling instincts, and that mutual trust allowed us to make quick decisions without lengthy discussions.
My main crew came from Delhi—experienced professionals who brought the technical standards the project demanded. The gaffer was particularly supportive, understanding the lighting challenges of mixing heritage architecture with commercial requirements. The production designer had done excellent work adapting the palace spaces for our wedding setup, creating authentic royal wedding elements that enhanced rather than competed with the location's inherent grandeur.
Budget constraints meant calling my first AC and focus puller from Kerala. While they were technically competent, the language barrier created unexpected challenges. Instructions that should have been quick exchanges became longer conversations, and the rhythm that's crucial for single-day shoots got interrupted by translation needs. The Delhi crew was supportive, often stepping in to bridge communication gaps, but it reminded me how seamless crew communication is essential for high-pressure commercial work.
## Logistics in the Land of Kings
Heritage locations come with their own rule books, and Bikaner Palace's guidelines read like a diplomatic treaty. Specific areas were off-limits during certain hours. Heavy equipment needed special permissions and designated pathways. The palace authorities required advance notice
for every setup change, and some of the most visually stunning sections had restricted access times.
Our production manager had done his homework, but paperwork and reality don't always align. What looked like a simple equipment move on the floor plan became a 45-minute negotiation with heritage officials. The stunning mirror hall we'd scouted had afternoon light restrictions we hadn't anticipated. The courtyard that was perfect for our wide shots was suddenly unavailable due to a heritage conservation team's inspection.
Every location change became a logistical puzzle that ate into our shooting time.
## The Extras Factor
The commercial called for a grand wedding setup—palace staff, traditional musicians, and a few dancers to create an authentic royal wedding atmosphere. Managing the background artists in period costumes while maintaining continuity across multiple palace locations required coordination, but being a wedding scenario, the extras had natural interactions to work with.
## The One-Day Sprint
When Tamannaah arrived on shoot day, we had no warm-up time. Every shot counted, every setup had to be perfect, and there was no tomorrow to fix what didn't work today. Single-day commercial shoots with A-list talent are like Formula 1 races—months of preparation condensed into hours of intense execution.
The great thing about working with experienced actors is their understanding of time pressure. Tamannaah quickly grasped our rapid-fire schedule, adapted to quick costume changes, and brought the regal presence that elevated every frame. Between setups, she was accommodating with retakes and professional about the constraints.
But star schedules don't bend for logistical problems. Every minute counted, and the pressure to maximize her time while delivering the coverage we needed kept everyone on high alert.
## The Technical Balancing Act
Shooting in a heritage location with mixed natural and artificial lighting sources requires constant technical adjustments. The palace's architecture created beautiful natural light patterns, but they changed throughout the day. Matching shots across different times and locations while maintaining the consistent look the brand required became a complex color temperature dance.
The acoustics in some palace sections created sound challenges we hadn't anticipated during scouting. The ornate surfaces that looked stunning on camera reflected sound in ways that complicated audio recording. We had to adapt our mic positioning and sometimes reshape performances to work with the acoustic realities.
Equipment movement between palace sections required careful planning. Some passages were too narrow for standard dolly tracks. Certain areas had floor surfaces that weren't suitable for heavy camera mounts. We found ourselves constantly adapting our technical approach to match the location's constraints.
## Racing Against Time
The single day required military precision from sunrise to sunset. Every setup was pre-planned during our tech recce, every costume change scheduled to the minute, every camera position optimized for maximum coverage. There was no time for creative exploration—we had to execute the vision we'd mapped out.
As the golden hour approached, we were still capturing crucial sequences. The palace's evening light was magical, but it also meant we were running out of time. We wrapped the final shot just as the heritage authorities were signaling the end of our permitted hours.
## What the Desert Taught Me
Single-day commercial shoots teach you that preparation is everything. The two-week gap between my initial scout and returning for the tech recce allowed me to process the location possibilities, plan shot sequences, and coordinate with the brand team back in Mumbai. The technical recce two days before shooting was crucial—it allowed us to solve logistical problems before they became shooting day disasters.
Heritage locations demand respect, flexibility, and meticulous pre-planning. When you only have one day, there's no room for surprises. Most importantly, the shoot reminded me that some of the most satisfying commercial work happens under the tightest constraints. When everything came together—Tamannaah against the palace backdrop, the textiles catching the perfect light, the extras creating authentic atmosphere—those moments made every minute of pressure worthwhile.
The final commercial captured the grandeur we'd envisioned, the textile brand was thrilled with the coverage, and Tamannaah looked stunning against the royal backdrop. But more than that, the project proved that sometimes the most challenging shoots produce the most satisfying results.
In the end, we didn't just finish the shoot—we created something beautiful despite everything that tried to prevent us from doing so. And that, perhaps, is what commercial cinematography is really about.