INDIAN INVASION

TANZIM PARDIWALLA DECONSTRUCTS THE DOMINANCE OF DESI VFX COMPANIES WHEN IT COMES TO HOLLYWOOD PRODUCTS

- TANZIM PARDIWALLA

When we think of big-budget, VFX-heavy Hollywood films, we almost never think of their cutting-edge, jaw-dropping visuals being curated in a studio somewhere in Mumbai’s Malad or Hyderbad’s Banjara Hills. It feels like a contradiction to put those two things together. And yet, it is a well-known fact that the immersive cinematic worlds in several fantasy, sci-fi and superhero blockbusters owe a lot to Indian VFX artistes, if not Indian studios. In fact, it is quite safe to assume that Marvel movies are entirely impossible to finish without thousands of Indian artistes’ contributions. You can read that statement once more. And one has to look no further than the end credits list of these tentpole movies to spot a slew of familiar-looking Indian names (who hasn’t done that in a theatre?). If it weren’t for fans waiting until the mid-credits and end-credits scenes in franchise movies, we’d probably never notice the overwhelming numbers of Indians behind the larger-than-life big-screen spectacles. The booming industry has been hiring homegrown studios and even artistes directly for decades now. Their imprint is undeniable. And the number of VFX shots in movies is only going up rapidly. As we spotlight desi VFX, here’s a look at some of the biggest movies that proved just how essential Indian VFX is to the entertainment industry on a global scale. Read on:

CGI TIGERS BURNING BRIGHT