Indian cinema’s entry into the VFX arena
In recent years, the VFX Industry in India has grown leaps and bounds and movies like Brahmastra, Zero, Bahubali stand as evidence of animation and visual effects gaining higher degree of prominence in the art of filmmaking
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The days of filming live-action sequences and investing in extensive set production are over. With the advancement of technology, science, resources, and audience-demand, visual effects and its usage in movies, of all genres, has significantly increased over the past few years. Animation and visual effects studios have seen a considerable increase in content demand for domestic shows in recent years with the animation segment alone recording a growth of 10% in 2020. Despite substantial losses caused as a result of the initial phase of the pandemic, it reached Rs 24.5 billion in market size.
India has the world’s second-largest entertainment market. According to Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) research, the Indian animation and visual effects industry has the potential to hold 20 to 25% of the global Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) market. With the increased demand for high-quality material in commercials, web series, movies, and OTT platforms, directors and producers are more incentivised to use cinematic effects and animation as opposed to live-action shots. Creators are increasingly integrating VFX and animation effects to make the illusion genuine and integrate fantasy into reality; to maintain the momentum, creators might develop or write content that is rich in fantasy and visual essence. According to one study, this sector can provide 75,000 to 125,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2025, thereby hugely beneficial to the Indian economy. The combination of animation and the VFX business allows enthusiasts and aspiring animators to flex their ideas and extend their wings in order to create a profitable product.
Over the past few years, animation and graphics can be seen in more Indian movies; some notable films include: Brahmāstra (2022), Baahubali: The Beginning (2015), Shivaay (2016), Robot 2.0 (2018), Dhoom 3 (2013), Eega (2012), Magadheera (2009), etc. One name that has become well–known to industry circles is Indian-origin Namit Malhotra, the founder and non-executive director of Prime Focus Limited, world's largest independent integrated media services company. He is the son of Bollywood film producer Naresh Malhotra and grandson of cinematographer MN Malhotra. His company, DNEG was also behind the VFX of Daniel Craig-starrer James Bond movie, No Time to Die, which was nominated for an Academy award in the Best Visual Effects category. The company boasts of other laurels
The importance of VFX in story-telling and, subsequently, the amount of money invested in the same is often-discussed, publicly, by actors, producers and so on. At the IndiaToday Conclave, Hindi-film actor Varun Dhawan spoke about the criticism Indian films receive for their lack of quality in relation to the standard of visual effects, He said, “We often receive flak for the VFX in our films. We, however, don’t have that much money. In Bhediya (released in November 2022), we have put in efforts within these limitations.”
Regional cinema:
It was in a small regional film that India saw one of its major technical progress; after getting inspired from an article in
in the field of VFX: six Academy Awards for the movies, Inception, Interstellar, Ex Machina, Blade Runner 2049, First Man and Tenet. For the movie titled Dune, for which his company was responsible for the VFX production that went on to be nominated for an Academy Award, he told media sources, “It’s a great feeling. It’s the first James Bond movie to get a nomination in this particular category in many, many years. Dune, on the other hand, is the new benchmark of visual effects in storytelling.”
Photo Credits: Getty Images
Photo Credits: Getty Images
‘American Cinematographer,’ Jijo Punnoose, an actor, and filmmaker from Kerala went on to make the first 3D film in India, titled ‘My Dear Kuttichathan’ in 1984. The film was dubbed into almost all the major languages in India and it reaped success everywhere. An optical illusion of a room as the characters walked through the wall was one visual that left everyone amazed. The film got a re-release in 1997 and even after a decade continued its success story. Towards the end of the 2010s, director Shankar came out with an all-out visual effects movie titled ‘Yendhiran’ aka ‘Robot’ starring none other than superstar Rajnikanth. The film was all about a scientist’s struggle to control his creation, an android named ‘Chitti.’ Yendhiran was the costliest Indian film at that point.
Indians and VFX:
Indian VFX experts offer two great advantages as far as Hollywood is concerned — affordability and high-quality work. Harsimmar Singh, who has worked on Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) projects like Avengers, Thor: Ragnarok said, “Indians are known for their hard work, dedication and cheap labor which attract the industry to hire them. Most of the people can speak and communicate well with clients and bosses, which gives them an upper hand compared to other countries.” Indrajeet Sisodiya, an industry expert, spoke about the growing role of Indian visual effects artists and told media sources, “It has been happening gradually over the years as Indian artistes slowly started getting accepted for overseas VFX study courses leading them overseas work opportunities. Others who are immensely talented in VFX in India get jobs offered directly from overseas studios and that’s another way of entering Hollywood.”
In fact, many international VFX studios are now opening up their branches in big Indian cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru, as reported by media outlets. Thor: The Dark World, for example, was outsourced to Prana Studios Ltd. (Mumbai) and Bengaluru-based Mr. X contributed to the visual effects of the film The Shape of Water.