Amidst debate around Ramayana VFX, Hrithik Roshan calls makers gutsy for risking all their money
Mumbai, April 5 : Bollywood superstar Hrithik Roshan has opened up about his strong perspective on the ever-evolving world of VFX.
This comes especially at a time when conversations around the visual effects of Ranbir Kapoor’s Ramayana have sparked mixed reactions online.
While some viewers have praised the scale and ambition, others have criticised the perceived overuse of CGI, calling it emotionally disconnecting.
Addressing the ongoing debate, Hrithik took to social media subtly defending the makers of Ramayana, through a long and thoughtful note.
Reflecting on the effort behind large-scale films, he wrote, “Today some special humans among us, like the makers of films like Kalki, Bahubali, Ramayana, (also my dad for koi mil gaya n krrish ofcourse) are my heroes, they have the guts and vision to do what's never been done - all for the love of cinema so that we - the audience get to experience something never watched before.”
“From my point of view they risked all that money, and years and years of effort just so another 11yr old kid could feel what I felt. To me that's noble. the intention by itself deserves applause! I am proud of my fellow Indians. What I would give to be a part of such dreams even as an assistant.”
In the same post, Hrithik also spoke about how “bad VFX exists” and acknowledged that sometimes poor execution can take away from the viewing experience.
The superstar further urged audiences to look at the larger picture and understand the intent and effort behind such projects.
He began his elongated note by recalling his own childhood experience with cinema and visual effects:
“Yes bad VFX exists. It's sometimes so bad it's painful to watch. Especially for me... and especially when it's a film I'm part of.
As an 11yr old kid I saw Back to the Future on a trip to london and it changed me forever. I became obsessed.
I would sit with my dads VHS player studying the frames pause -play pause-play until I broke the player.
“I ordered a book "industrial light and Magic" - The Art of Special Effects" from Reader’s Digest with my pocket money....and waited months for it to arrive at the Juhu post office. Happiest day of my life. I can still smell the book as I unwrapped it. Many others followed.”
He further elaborated on the different styles of VFX and how audiences often confuse stylistic choices with flaws:
“In my little understanding from the little that I have learnt is that there are different VFX styles adopted by makers to bring their vision to life. It's like in comics or animation - some prefer ANIME style but that's not as realistic as spider man-into the spider verse. You can like one style over the other but neither is wrong.
He added, “In the same way VFX movies can be Photorealistic (Invisible ) VFx where you shouldn’t notice the VFX at all. Like in big scale action films like James Bond, Die hard , War 1 etc OR the makers can adopt storytelling stylised VFX which is more magical with sometimes enhanced colors, Non-realistic lighting , visuals that purposefully resemble beautiful paintings. Like in movies like 300 , lord of the rings, etc.”
The actor further write, "…Then there are others like Hyperreal/ Enhanced Reality - think Superhero films and high concept films like inception …Fantastical Realism (Hybrid)I also enjoy Surreal/Experimental VFX where they break all reality and logic intentionally. It has Abstract forms, impossible geometry.”
The Koi Mill Gaya actor further stated, “Bad vfx is if the movie promises say "photorealism" but is unable to inhabit it fully. Even a small lapse in physics/ gravity can then destroy the entire illusion . Or the promise is of storybook style but they fail in making it beautiful enough or artistic enough or divine enough and so fails to engage. But to say that the storybook style is not looking photorealistic - isn't fair. Cause it's not meant to be.”
He added, “AND you can't criticize the maker just cause he has chosen one style while you prefer another style. Thats not fair. So sometimes when you say “bad VFX.” Maybe it’s just a style you didn’t expect?”
The actor concluded, “So next time don’t just ask, “Is it real?” First ask, “Is it right for the story?” “is it making me feel what the maker intended?” Debate it. But debate it with awareness. Yes? Please!”
Talking about Ramayana, the first glimpse of Ranbir Kapoor as Ram was unvealed on the 5th of April on account of Hanuman Jayanti.
Ever since the short video clip was released by the makers, it received mixed reactions with the lot of viewers calling out the over usage of VFX and CGI, further claiming it to have killed the entire emotional essence of the mythological story.
–IANS
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