A Design Film · Upscale Architects

THE RISE

A home in the sky that came back from America — captured as one film, six reels, and the full house in photographs.
1  3-minute film 6  reels Photographs  every space
Designed byUpscale Architects
LocationManicktala, Kolkata · 16th floor
Shoot15–16 June 2026

One beautiful film says more than thirty clips. So we're making one — and letting six reels and a full set of photographs orbit it.

The spine of everything is her voice. Each reel is a question we ask Pragya; her answer becomes the voiceover. The film is the same — her commentary, walking the home, ideas first. She can read these lines, make them her own, and record the voiceover ahead, so on the day we only chase light.

On light: the rooms that face the sky — bedrooms, dining, balconies — are shot in daylight. The living core takes little daylight, so there we lean into warm, intimate light and let that glow be the room's character.

One · The Film

The Architect's Eye

Three minutes, vertical. Pragya walks the home and explains the thinking — not the finishes. The hero piece the whole series is built around.

The spine: luxury is what you have the discipline to leave out.

0:00 – 0:12Cold open. Her hand on the brass handle; the door swings open; she steps in, sixteen floors up, the city falling out of focus behind her.
Her commentary

“Everyone thinks luxury is what you add to a home. For me, it's what you have the discipline to leave out.”

0:12 – 0:42The entrance. The door's flowing brass inlay; the Ram Setu marble underfoot; her walking slowly in.
Her commentary

“The brief here was one line — anyone who walks in should pause for five seconds before they step further. It's Art Nouveau, not Art Deco — drawn from a plant we kept in the studio for three weeks. And underfoot, a marble inlay from the Ram Setu — a bridge built one stone at a time. It asks you to bring your stone before you enter.”

0:42 – 0:58The green corner. Plants, pebbles, Shiv-ji catching the light.
Her commentary

“We couldn't have a courtyard this high up, so we made a garden in the sky, with Shiv-ji at its centre. The home doesn't begin at the living room. It begins here.”

0:58 – 1:35The heart. The mandir opens slowly; into the warm, low-lit living; the swing creaking gently.
Her commentary

“The first thing this home shows you is faith — a mandir carved from solid teak over six months, by one craftsman. The living beyond doesn't take much daylight, and I love that — it stays warm and quiet, with a swing at its heart. Because every Indian home with grandparents has a swing in its memory.”

1:35 – 2:00The everyday. The kitchen opening up, sculptural chimney; cut to the dining in clean east light, balcony beyond.
Her commentary

“This family spent twenty years in America. They came back wanting to cook in the open, talking to everyone — so the kitchen doesn't hide. And the dining faces east, because I designed it around morning, not dinner. It's the room they wake up into.”

2:00 – 2:48The three bedrooms. Son's (movement, the climber) → parents' (the jharokha headboard) → master (the circle bed and moon window aligning).
Her commentary

“There are three generations under this roof, and each bedroom speaks a different language. The children's is the loudest — built to play and to grow up in. The parents' is the quietest — I took a jharokha, the window a Rajasthani woman once sat behind to watch the world, and made it the wall she now sleeps against. And the master is a single idea: they said they wanted to feel like they were sleeping at the centre of something — so the bed became a circle, the window a circle, the ceiling curved to meet them both.”

2:48 – 3:00The close. She steps onto the balcony; the whole city returns to frame; hold on the skyline, or on her.
Her commentary

“What ties it together isn't a colour, or a style. It's a discipline — fewer materials, quieter walls, every room remembering who sleeps in it. Step out here, sixteen floors up, and the whole city comes back to you. That's the home — one that lets every generation feel like the centre of it.”

Two · The Reels

The Six

Six quiet, crafted stories — one idea each. Each ~30–45 seconds, her voiceover, daylight where the room has it.
01
The Circle at the Centre
Master Bedroom
Ask her

The clients came to you with one sentence about this room — what was it, and what did you do with it?

The voiceover · her words

“They said — we want to feel like we're sleeping at the centre of something. So everything in the room became a circle. The bed, the window above it, even the ceiling curves to meet them. When the geometry agrees with itself like that, the body settles before the mind does. It's the centre of their universe, made literal.”

On screen

We drift in through the doorway as the round bed and round window settle into one frame, the morning curtain breathing. Soft daylight.

The line & caption
~45s
Her voiceover
Morning daylight
A bedroom designed around the geometry of a dream.
CaptionA circular bed. A moon window above. A ceiling that curves to meet both. The master bedroom at THE RISE was built around one sentence — “we want to feel like the centre of our own universe.”
02
The Jharokha Headboard
Parents' Room
Ask her

The headboard is a jharokha — why did that move matter to you?

The voiceover · her words

“A jharokha was the carved Rajasthani window a woman of the house would sit behind, to watch the world. We brought it indoors and made it her headboard — so the window she once watched the world from is now the wall she sleeps against. It's hand-carved stucco, three weeks of one craftsman's hands. You can feel them on it.”

On screen

The camera traces the cusped arch from the floor up, soft window light glancing across the carved relief.

The line & caption
~45s
Her voiceover
Soft window light
The window she watched the world from — now the wall she sleeps against.
CaptionA jharokha was the Rajasthani window a woman sat behind to watch the world. We made it a headboard. Hand-carved stucco — three weeks of one Jodhpur craftsman's hands.
03
The Grand Carved Mandir
The Heart of the Home
Ask her

Why is the mandir the very first thing the home shows you?

The voiceover · her words

“Because for this family, faith comes before everything — so it should be the home's first sentence too. It's solid teak, hand-carved over six months by a single craftsman, with marble set into the base after the wood was in, so every pattern lines up exactly. In the soft light of this floor, it doesn't shine — it glows. You can't move it. It belongs to this wall now.”

On screen

The mandir doors open slowly; the camera holds. Warm, intentional light and the flicker of diyas — the carving glows rather than gleams.

The line & caption
~60s
Her voiceover
Warm, glowing
The first thing you see when you enter — the soul of the home.
CaptionSix months of hand-carving. One craftsman. Solid teak. Marble laid after the wood, so the patterns line up exactly. At THE RISE, faith is the home's first sentence.
04
The Art Nouveau Entrance
The Arrival
Ask her

What did you want a person to feel in the first few seconds of walking in?

The voiceover · her words

“The family told me one thing — they wanted anyone who walked in to pause for five seconds before stepping further. So the entrance isn't a passage, it's a held breath. The door, the marble underfoot, the green just beyond — none of it rushes you. Sixteen floors up, I wanted the whole city to fall away the moment you step inside.”

On screen

A hand reaches for the brass handle; the door swings toward us and the foyer opens — marble inlay underfoot, the green corner glowing softly beyond.

The line & caption
~45s
Her voiceover
Warm interior light
An entrance designed to make you pause.
Caption“Anyone who walks in should pause for five seconds.” That was the brief. An Art Nouveau door, a Ram Setu marble inlay, a garden in the sky just beyond — every element slows you down.
05
The Living & The Swing
The Heart of the Home
Ask her

The swing — why does a home like this need one?

The voiceover · her words

“Every Indian home with grandparents has a swing somewhere in its memory. So we built the family theirs — hand-carved, hung on brass. This living room doesn't take much daylight, and I love that; it stays warm and quiet, and the swing sits in the middle of it like a memory you can touch. Everyone who visits reaches for it first.”

On screen

An empty swing creaks once; the room glows around it — the carved shelf, the sculptural TV wall. Warm pools of light, brass catching what daylight there is.

The line & caption
~60s
Her voiceover
Warm, intimate
Every Indian home with grandparents has a swing in its memory.
CaptionEvery Indian home with grandparents has a swing in its memory. We built the family one — hand-carved, brass-hung — at the warm, quiet heart of the home. And yes, everyone reaches for it.
06
Four Materials, One Emotion
Master Bedroom · Materiality
Ask her

What was this room made of, before it was made of anything you can see?

The voiceover · her words

“Four materials. Wood to ground it, plaster for softness, brass for warmth, linen for breath. Everything you see is one of those four. Take any one of them away, and the whole room falls apart.”

On screen

A hand lays a slim brass strip onto cream plaster; the camera reads each material in turn — wood, plaster, brass, linen — as soft light moves across them.

The line & caption
~45s
Her voiceover
Soft daylight
Four materials. One emotion.
CaptionWood for grounding. Plaster for softness. Brass for warmth. Linen for breath. The master bedroom at THE RISE was designed as four materials before anything else.
Three · The Photographs

The Whole House

A still in every space we touch — no people, daylight where the room has it, warm and intimate where it doesn't. A hero per space, plus the details.

The Arrival

  • Entrance door, closed hero — brass inlay
  • Door half-open — marble inlay glimpsed beyond
  • Ram Setu inlay — top-down, bare foot stepping in
  • Console + carved marble panel — detail
  • The green corner — plants + Shiv-ji

The Heart

  • Grand carved mandir hero — cover candidate
  • Mandir gathering seating — curved bench + floating table
  • Formal living + swing hero
  • Carved trophy shelf — detail

The Everyday

  • Kitchen — sculptural chimney hero
  • Kitchen — breakfast counter — lime + mint detail
  • Dining — east-light breakfast hero

The Master Bedroom

  • Circle bed + moon window hero
  • Wardrobe wall + line-art panel
  • Master washroom — stone + brass
  • Master balcony — skyline, early light

The Son's Room

  • Twin beds + checkerboard wall hero
  • Terrazzo + curved wardrobe
  • Chess washroom — board underfoot

The Parents' Room

  • Jharokha headboard hero
  • Pichwai mural + pistachio armoire
  • Washroom — Moroccan + brass + bold green

Details & Portrait

  • Curved ceiling run · 10-inch skirting
  • Brass, carving & textile macros
  • Architect portrait golden hour — green-corner backdrop