Don’t look for an Indian “Avatar” anytime soon, but Bollywood, inspired by the success of blockbusters such as “Transformers,” is starting to take special effects seriously. Up until five years ago, producers were unwilling to embrace technology, preferring instead to spend millions on expensive outdoor shoots and sets.
That changed when India became a viable back-end destination for Hollywood films like “Tron” and “Avatar” amid a growing wave of outsourcing post-production special effects due to cost. The number of studios handling VFX – visual effects that include mixes of live-action footage and computer-generated images.
“Earlier, Bollywood looked at technology like VFX as a cost-saving mechanism, but now it is also about the experience of watching a film with that kind of technology,” said Kamal, chief financial officer at Eros International. Eros will release “Ra One”, an ambitious superhero film with star Shah Rukh Khan, later this year. The company is also making “Rana,” a tri-lingual epic with another superstar, Rajnikanth.
Rajnikanth’s last film, “Robot,” had the flashiest Bollywood special effects to date, including a Matrix-like sequence, and such superstar backing of the trend means others are sure to follow. Starting from eleven in 2008, the studio has now grown to 51 and is constantly on the lookout for more talent. “Revenue from VFX for Bollywood has doubled every year and we continue to see it growing,” Neil Cunningham, Creative Head at the RMW digital lab, told Reuters.
Its a long way before that ever happens.
The Indians are copy cats. In every field of life, they just copy the best. They lack innovation and creativity!
great khan….
there is nothing wrong in copying the best as long as it makes you better. 🙂
The face of Bollywood has been changing slowly over the last 5 years ….
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