A film like Krrish will open a lot of new avenues for visual effects and filmmakers will get bolder in using such technical aid.
The company, Prasad EFX has been making its presence in the films labs, pre and post-production, visual effects, digital video, multimedia and more. It is their team of about 70 technicians from Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad that has put together 90 minutes of visual effects for Krrish.This is not the first time that the Roshans and the Prasad group have come together. "Rakesh Roshan's father had given music for the films made by our founder L V Prasad," says Rajiv. But he admits that Krrish was a tough act to take up for the Prasad Group. "Rakesh Roshan had the story very clearly drawn. He knew what visual effects he required. When the script was read to us, we realised it was going to be a very challenging task. In fact, we weren't even sure if we would be able to put it together. When we started, we had no clue how to go about it. But I must thank Rakesh Roshan for having so much confidence in us."
The company, Prasad EFX has been making its presence in the films labs, pre and post-production, visual effects, digital video, multimedia and more.
From the promos and the movie stills, it is not very evident that the film has used special effects. Most of the thriller and action scenes appear as though they've been performed by Hrithik without any technical aid. "The idea is to maintain the natural charm of the characters. Special effects are not supposed to look obvious. There are some scenes where you just can't tell whether there's use of special effects or it is simply Hrithik performing," he says, proudly.The Prasad team is 'extremely happy' with the end result of the eight-month long task of special effects on Krrish. "We didn't compromise anywhere. And that shows. In the film, several reels have visual effects. Partly, because the lead star is a superhero, some of the effects are very much required. But I also believe that Hrithik's personality has a quality which would make people believe that it is all him, no technical interference. And that's the idea," Rajiv explains.
"Most of the visual effects blend into the story very well. The audience will not be able to tell the difference." During the making of the film and the post-production work, Rajiv was impressed with Hrithik's involvement with the technical aspects of the film. "He was very involved with the special effects, and I don't mean just in front of the camera. In Mumbai and Chennai, he has made a great contribution to the post-production work. On the other hand, Rakesh has concentrated on direction. He is a wonderful director to work with. He trusted us completely with the task and gave us the freedom we needed. At every point, we have raised the bar for ourselves and given our very best to every scene. This is only possible when the production house backs you up for your task."
Dressed in a black leather superhero suit, a mask and cape, flying across the city with a mission, Krrish is a delight for kids and adults alike. But it is not just Hrithik and the superhero look that have created the magic.
Carefully, without revealing much, Rajiv says, "We used a combination of software and hardware. We did a body scan of Hrithik to create a model that we have used in a few scenes. When you see the movie, and can't pick the scene where we have used this, is when we'll know we succeeded." For a huge portion of the climax, the team had built a futuristic lab, which took two months to create. "The lab is a part of the climax scene. I can't say much about it, but it is one of the things that will amaze the audience. And it is with the help of Hollywood's Craig Mumma that the special effects look so good."
Rajiv is tight-lipped about the other Bollywood offers that have already started pouring in, but he does mention that the industry has the kind of filmmakers who now know that visual effects are a great investment in making a successful film. "A film like Krrish will open a lot of new avenues for visual effects and filmmakers will get bolder in using such technical aid."
