The Hindu Business Line : Visual effects come of age in Indian cinema

Imagine creating visual effects for a Superman film on a $5-million budget. Considering the recent flick Superman Returns cost $200 million, a sizeable chunk of which was spent on visual effects, it sounds incredible. More so, if one said it could be done in India.

"The gap in quality of visual effects (VFX) used in Hollywood and Indian productions is narrowing," says Mr Pankaj Kedia, Regional Manager, South-East Asia & India, Autodesk (Media and Entertainment Division).

Autodesk is a supplier of 2D and 3D content design software such as Smoke and Lustre used globally in films.

Though India may not make films like King Kong or Lord of the Rings, the quantity and complexity of VFX used in each film is going up, he adds. From a few minutes in Kamal Haasan's 1995 hit Indian to 40 minutes in the recent release Dhoom: 2, the Indian film industry has come along way. In fact, use of VFX over the last three years has been quite substantial.

Dhoom: 2 has the longest and most complex VFX footage for an Indian film ever, according to Mr Kedia.

The 40-minute VFX footage cost about 40 per cent of the film's Rs 35-crore production budget. Typically big banner films have production budgets of about Rs 30 crore, of which VFX constitutes about Rs 6 crore.

Besides length, the usage of VFX has also changed. Unlike in the past where these effects stood out and often looked tacky and different from the rest of the film, VFX today is used for photo-realistic, action-based sequences that complement actors, says Mr Kedia. Dhoom: 2, for instance, has used a technique called pre-visualisation to create sequences such as a cliff from which the lead pair jump off, a fort as backdrop and an interactive TV wall.

Mr Kedia says that VFX can be a cheaper alternative to building real sets.

"Building a huge TV wall would have been expensive. With pre-visualisation, a virtual set can be built at about 15 per cent of the original cost."

Eight of the top 10 Hollywood films each year use substantial VFX. In India, of this year's releases, Krrish and Dhoom: 2 have used extensive VFX.

But this scenario is changing. Of the films announced for shooting next year, four big budget productions including Dhoom: 3 and the sequel to Krrish would use extensive visual effects, according to Mr Kedia.