"Any set you erect should have life in it", Thotta Tharani, the most sought after art directors in Indian film Industry, once said in an interview. These words reveal why this man has become the final word on art direction in Indian Film Industry. Thotta Tharani is renowned for his extraordinary talent in creating huge and realistic sets without compromising the suitable tone and ambience of the scenes. He has completed more than 100 feature films as a Set Designer and Art Director including three foreign productions: Pondichery, Dernier Comptoir Des Indes (French), Hanuman (French) and Branchie 1999 (Italian). In addition to being an Art Director, Thotta Tharani is an artist, famous for his nonfigurative and colourful paintings. His series of paintings featuring Gods and Goddesses and Rajputs are very famous as well.

Thotta Tharani completed a postgraduate diploma in fine arts (painting) from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Chennai at the age of 16. He started hosting shows at the age of 20 and has more than 50 shows to his credit world over. He participated in the Design Symposium of the Crafts Festival "Living in Seasons", Toyama, Japan in 1992; the Print Making Workshop, British Council, Chennai, the Print-Making Workshop at "Atelier 17", Paris; in the Fresco Painting Camp, Rajasthan, and the Graphic Workshop at Garhi Village, New Delhi.

"For me every award means more involvement in what I am doing. And an honour like this (the Padma Shri) is a bit scary only because it places a huge responsibility on you. You have to live up to it and you need to do something more, something extra in each project," Thotta Tharani said when the nation honored him with Padma Shri. However, he has never failed to keep huge expectations people have upon him. Now, he is all set to astonish his fans around the world with his work in DAM999. The gigantic and awe inspiring set he built for the shooting of DAM999 in Ramoji Rao film city will be another feather in his cap. The whole world is anxiously waiting to watch this wonder carved out by this master craftsman.