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Made in India!
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`Krrish' has over 90 minutes of special effects, and all of it designed in India
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we are capable of good special effects at a price much lesser than Hollywood
PHOTO: K. RAMESH BABU
TECH SAVVY Himakumar, senior line producer Efx of `Krrish' and Hrithik Roshan in the film
When Rakesh Roshan decided to make a sequel to Koi Mil Gaya and have a superhero as its trump card, he knew was entering an unfamiliar territory.
Superheroes don't happen without special effects, the best of which come from Hollywood and at a mind-boggling sum. When Roshan approached Craig Mumma and Marc Kolbe, who worked on Godzilla and Independence Day, the duo selected the Chennai-based postproduction firm EFX, to work on special effects with their inputs. "Rakesh Roshan wanted nothing but the best," recalls Himakumar, senior line producer of EFX. So, if Krrish was produced with a budget of Rs 50 crore, Roshan shelled out another Rs 15-20 crore for special effects.
Thinking ahead
"It's the first time an Indian film has 90 minutes of special effects. The project took us six to eight months and involved 60 to 70 people. Krrish has 1,200 shots that have been digitally manipulated. Until now, Indian movies have had only 200 to 300 shots with special effects," adds Himakumar. Working on Krrish was no easy task. "There were a few tough sequences — like the futuristic lab, which is the villain's (Naseeruddin Shah) den, and the fire shots in the circus. Roshan and Craig couldn't put their finger on what exactly the lab should look like. We were asked to make the lab look futuristic. We took 15 days to design the lab and the result was stunning. For the circus sequence, we had to enhance the fire digitally," recollects Himakumar.
EFX also produced three digital master negatives for Krrish. "This was necessary since 800 to 850 prints were required for the worldwide distribution. From one negative, you can get 200 to 250 prints. When the number of prints exceeds 250, the quality deteriorates. Most film-makers distribute the prints of lesser quality to remote areas. But for Krrish, which is loaded with visual effects, it's important to have quality prints. So we made more master negatives," pitches in Mohan Krishnan, head of corporate communications, Prasad Group.
Krrish is being pitched to be a trendsetter film. "This is a significant step where India moves up the value chain. Until recently, international studios used special effects and animation firms in India as sweatshops. East European countries are now becoming destinations for inexpensive labour; it's time we showed we are capable of good special effects at a price much lesser than Hollywood," says Himakumar.He points out to the innumerable Indian films that have had special effects.
While EFX has worked on Hindi films like Yuva, Rang De Basanti, Parineeta and Taj Mahal, there are a bunch of Tamil films like Anniyan (Aparachitudu), Pudupettai and Gazini and Telugu films like Jai Chiranjeeva, Okkadu, Sri Ramasadu and Sye. Their forthcoming projects include Mani Ratnam's Guru and Kamal Hassan's Vettaiyaadu Vilayaadu.
"Most established film-makers use special effects judiciously as per the diktats of the story. But others merely follow the trend and use visual effects where it's not necessary," admits Mohan Krishnan.
SANGEETHA DEVI. K
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