Ramayana VFX row: Ranbir Kapoor, Sacred Games and Farzi artists say Marvel comparisons are unfair
New Delhi: Ramayana’s visual effects have drawn heavy criticism online, and Ranbir Kapoor has come out in support of the crew behind them. He recently objected to viewers dismissing elaborate CGI as AI-generated, saying it feels terrible to see the artists’ hard work reduced to that label. According to him, thousands of artists work round the clock, and getting a single frame right takes days of manual effort.
VFX supervisors Vijesh Rajan and Yashoda Parthasarthy, whose credits include Sacred Games, Farzi and Gangs of Wasseypur, have now joined the conversation. Speaking to Hindustan Times, they criticised the trolling and explained how much work goes into making effects look photorealistic. They also echoed Yash, the film’s actor and co-producer, in saying that a project like Ramayana deserves support because it could help other Indian filmmakers reach a global audience.
Vijesh Rajan on supporting Ramayana
Vijesh told the publication, “When I was doing my MA in Film in Australia, my thesis idea was whether an epic like Ramayana or Mahabharata could be made on the scale of The Lord of the Rings or Chronicles of Narnia. I’ve always dreamt of a film like this being made. As an Indian audience, we should support such endeavours. Other than Toxic, I don’t think a film has gotten this wide release. It’s mounted on a massive budget and is being released globally on an unprecedented scale with collaborations from Hans Zimmer, AR Rahman, and top technicians.”
Vijesh Rajan on trolling and campaign against the film
He agreed that criticism has its place, but said abusive comments can put filmmakers off. “It is a project we should back regardless of flaws; we should discuss the flaws, but there is a way in which people speak, and that can be off-putting to a lot of filmmakers. There is a lot of trolling, and there is some sort of campaign against the film, and I feel like, why? We should support any endeavour that is mounted on this scale. It will only open doors for other Indian filmmakers to reach the international audience, and that is a huge step,” he further told the HT.
Yashoda Parthasarthy on Marvel comparisons
Yashoda, whose work includes Raman Raghav 2.0 and Ghoul, spoke about how realistic effects are built. The Hindustan Times quoted her saying, “Having worked in visual effects and motion design, I remember when I was studying, and 3D animation was such a difficult process in itself, and in the past decade, it has evolved a lot. But having said that, there is a lot of work that goes into making anything photorealistic, and people compare our films to Marvel or Avengers movies, which have 10x the budget that we have.”
She added further, “There’s a lack of research, empathy, and understanding of how visual effects work. We don’t support art and design, and when statements are thrown, it is a little heartbreaking because those 10,000 people have worked on it. So, definitely need to support films like Ramayana. Also, not everybody can animate; if they did, then everybody would be an expert. Let’s be a little more empathetic.”