Tracking Wes Anderson, from Asteroid City to Ballard Estate

Anderson’s production designer on several films, Adam Stockhausen, had told ‘Vanity Fair’ recently, “On Wes’s films, each camera angle is actually broken apart into its own set, or its own location, and will manipulate space. That requires an intensity of planning

MUMBAI: Watching a Wes Anderson film is like entering a diorama. The meticulous set design, the conscious colour palette, the studied mannerisms of the actors, who look more marionette than human, form an enchanted, gated universe. With 11 movies behind him, including his latest ‘Asteroid City’, Anderson’s name has become shorthand for whimsy. And now, it has even inspired an abstract cinematic trend on Instagram.

Inside the Instagram phenomenon: ‘You better not act like you’re in a Wes Anderson movie’ (HT Photo)

On April 8 this year, American photographer Ava Williams had posted a 24-second video on TikTok titled ‘You better not be acting like you’re in a Wes Anderson film’ of a train ride from Connecticut to New York. She had seen ‘The French Dispatch’ just before her journey, and the frames were inspired by the film. For the background music, she had borrowed an excerpt from the film’s OST. It went viral; became a sensation on TikTok with videos spanning the globe, especially the tutti-frutti cities of Europe; and reached India on reels on Instagram. Finally, there are some videos shot in Mumbai that give a decent homage to the master of high style.

Content creator Urmi Daga’s Anderson-esque reel, shot by cinematographer Kartik Jaiswal, has racked up 160K views. “I have been a blogger and influencer for almost 15 years and have shot at all the locations in Mumbai,” she says. “So, I had my top favourites.” In an ivory sari, makkhi-shaped earrings, and monocle-style sunglasses, she loiters through Ballard Estate, Kala Ghoda, Chor Bazaar, and Chowpatty. A tapri, a kala-khatta stall, an Alphonso mango, and a stray cat at Horniman Circle, all make guest appearances to the chords of a harpsichord. “I had some locations in mind like the Mumbai Samachar building, but a lot of it was unplanned. When we were shooting at a bus stop in Ballard Estate, an empty bus pulled over. The driver had gone to freshen up, so we requested him for two minutes. Those shots turned out really well.”

Hello, Mr Anderson

Tutorials on the internet have a long list on what defines the Wes Anderson style. Eccentric locations; structures that seem like characters unto themselves; large structures with odd proportions that make them look smaller and more endearing, like a dollhouse; playful, vintage fonts; carefully selected props and outdated instruments such as typewriters. Pockets in South Mumbai already tick this checklist: Karfule Petrol Pump, Hamilton House, and Grand Hotel in Ballard Estate; Evelyn House in Colaba; Flora Fountain and Yazdani Bakery; the new Pooranawalla logo next to BSE; and the shopfronts on Chor Bazaar and Kalbadevi. Cinematographer Priyanku Sarmah, whose reel, featuring film-maker Manusmiet Rana in a natty black suit and a scarlet cravat, has crossed 325K views, says, “When we went to South Mumbai, it felt like Anderson’s backdrop and style. The location scouting was completely on the fly. We just walked around and stopped outside nice buildings.” This included the neoclassical buildings around the Narcotics Control Bureau in Ballard Estate.

Anderson’s production designer on several films, Adam Stockhausen, had told ‘Vanity Fair’ recently, “On Wes’s films, each camera angle is actually broken apart into its own set, or its own location, and will manipulate space. That requires an intensity of planning.” For ‘Asteroid City’, they referenced old photographs, old postcards, old films. The research was “a goldmine of tiny details”, establishing even the exact colour of the tiles and the specific wallpaper. “It really is a forensic process, of taking the storyboard and saying, ‘How can we work this puzzle backwards?’ We often use miniatures, stop-motion, puppets, because it’s fun and a handmade way of solving problems.”

Other Anderson quirks include a flat and symmetrical composition; a camera aimed perpendicular to the subject; long tracking shots; bright colours such as saturated reds and yellows, mixed in with desaturated pastels; and immaculately arranged flatlays. Sarmah says, “Be it an emotion or a scene or an understanding of the atmosphere, Anderson does it through colours. All his films have very different palettes. So, he chooses his shades depending on the tone of the story. In terms of shot-taking also, he’s very abstract. Mainstream film-makers will never have a character facing the camera, looking straight into the lens, describing something or doing an action that is pre-planned. With him, you know you’re watching a film. His transitions and camera movement are also from the ’70s and ’80s, with sharp pans and fast zooms.”

Sincerest form of flattery

But, on Instagram, Anderson’s elaborate, fastidious, time-travelling technique has become evaporated to aping his colours and symmetry. Photographer Nirali Naik, who is known for taking Anderson-like pictures, says, “Barring a few old pictures, for which I might have thought that this looks like a Wes Anderson movie, I have never actively thought of imitating him. My personal aesthetic responds to his style. As time passed, it has seeped into my being. The reels on Instagram are like a passing fad, which will become irrelevant soon. With any trend, once it’s done way too much, it leaves its original idea behind. People start doing their own thing, without staying authentic to the core idea, which is happening already. You can see that people are not really understanding what the style is, and making stuff up just to get the numbers.”

On accidentally discovering Anderson in Mumbai, she says, “Some art deco buildings in Mumbai might respond to his visual style, but this is where we are diluting his vision. In Europe, it’s a different thing because his backdrops in ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ or ‘The French Dispatch’ are physically there. Some of South Mumbai architecture is also from that region, so by that deduction, you do see a similarity. But, that’s about it.” Naik herself hasn’t shot a reel, even though recreating Anderson’s mood and mood board come naturally to her. “Everyone’s doing it, so what am I doing differently? I wish I had thought of something like the original reel. That’s more important to me.”