Creative licence

In a light-filled penthouse in London, filmmaker Tarsem Singh has created an evocative study of comfort and charm that breaks boundaries, genres and styles, much like his movies

- REI MOON

Like most sensible people, filmmaker Tarsem Singh spent most of 2020 indoors. Perhaps because his London home is not very different from one of his whimsical sets, he did not find this homebound time so challenging. “My life is kind of quarantined anyway. If I am not doing anything, 85 per cent of the time I’m at home. I have no distinction between weekdays and weekends,” says the 59-year-old auteur.

Located in a bustling street past Trafalgar Square and the English National Opera, his penthouse is set amidst Georgian-style facades. Inside lies an open space, which is energised by exquisite textures and bold colours and blends an eclectic mix of periods, genres and styles.

INDIA STORY

Built as a bachelor pad, the house is full of personality and, on closer look, unveils the story of its famed inhabitant: “I always knew that I wanted to live in central London and I always thought that it’d be only for one person,” he says. “But when my family comes, it’s 15 people and everyone sleeps on the floor.”

Singh’s born-in-India, built-in-London trajectory manifests in every quadrant of the house, which marries East and West aesthetics by balancing the mystical elegance of chinoiserie with mid-century modern furniture. “While I was growing up, my father worked in Iran, so I was there for three months and in Shimla for the rest of the year. Both cultures, Iranian and Indian, like sitting on the ground,” he says, pointing to the centrepiece of his living room, the iconic Roche Bobois floor-seating. “The main reason I bought the Mah Jong sofa was that it allows you to be formal and informal at the same time.”