Red Chillies VFX, a division of Red Chillies Entertainment, is one of the few companies in the country that have reached a stature where they were given a standing applause for their quality creation in limited budget by the Visual Effects Society in Los Angeles.
The brainchild of renowned actor in the Indian Film Industry, Shah Rukh Khan, the visual effects (VFX) company has been able to bag prestigious projects and receive accolades worldwide for their sheer determination to deliver quality results in time even during the lockdown.
The creative and efficient team led by Keitan Yadav and Haresh (Harry) Hingorani work hard to produce the end results post-production.
Mostly into advertisements and commercials back in 1996, the audacious duo was approached by SRK who wanted to have a state-of-the-art VFX studio in India.
Chief operating officer of Red Chillies VFX, Keitan, shared the metamorphosis of VFX and the incredible journey of Red Chillies, in a candid conversation with us.
Excerpts from the interview:
You are one of the pioneers of VFX and CGI. What are the prospects in India?
VFX started in 1996 mostly in ads and commercials. Then it got into the film industry in very limited capacity. Today, after 24 years VFX is growing tremendously as a big industry. Even in India, VFX found new ways and technological advancements to get into mainstream.
Initially VFX was used for last moment damage control after the shoot, for effects that were not possible otherwise. Most of it was very basic. Now everybody understands that VFX can save time, risk, money, number of shooting days and number of people required for the shooting. Now, we are one of the main departments where we get involved in the initial stage itself.
We have now created a benchmark in number of films beginning from Ra. One, followed by Krrish 3, Fan, Zero and many more. This was not possible without our VFX department. In future it is going to keep on growing, alongside the changes that the world is going through post-Covid.
Tell us about your journey from commercials to film industry.
The company was started basically with one man’s vision. In 2002, we met Shah Rukh Khan and he was looking for visual effects for his film, Main Hoon Na, which was Farah Khan’s directorial debut. We were into advertising then. At that time he trusted us and gave us the opportunity. On the sets of Paheli he told us his vision of starting a world class studio. From 10 persons we are 500 today.
We always wanted to take up challenging projects and try to do it our own way keeping the Indian context in mind, budget constraints, infrastructure etc.
The quality of Ra. One stands out even today. We got a standing ovation at Academy Theatre, in LA by Visual Effects Society. They were surprised with the quality of visuals and the budget with which we made it.
We also made Krrish 3 for Hrithik Roshan, which was another benchmark for VFX in India. In Fan, the director could have taken a look-alike. But SRK wanted to play both the roles. It was challenging. We changed the nose, face and made someone who resembled him but was a different person. We delivered under 11 months.
No one in India did anything like what we did in Zero film.
What makes you the leader in the VFX industry?
At heart and core we are passionate, technologically creative. This is not just about business. It is about client satisfaction, passion and creativity. We have the best talents in the country, best projects run by professionals and are a successful organisation delivering big projects in time even amidst the pandemic scenario.
Given the present situation, how do you perceive the future of VFX industry?
We never thought work-from-home would be possible. But due to the pandemic the company has adapted #RCWoHo (Red Chillies Work from Home) and delivered projects on time. We did films like Class of ’83, Bulbul, Gunjan Saxena, and many others. Whatever was scheduled we delivered it.
We can reach out to anyone in the world, collaborate, grow and expand. VFX has lot of potential in OTT platforms, with its use increasing manifold. In future it will be used more extensively. People can use VFX as an advantage to leverage their products. It will invent and re-invent and is here to stay.
Are you planning for expansion abroad?
Right now we cannot say anything about it. Once we start with normal working conditions, may be then we can look at expansion plans, if necessary.
The economy of all the sectors are at a standstill due to the lockdown. But VFX is one sector that did not see a decline.
Yes, in a way. This can be credited to the streamlined work structure and the VFX pipeline which enabled us to work from home. Information Technology (IT) industry always had large portion of employees working from home. But because VFX industry deals with huge data files, high bandwidth, it is not possible to work from home. Right from the angle of privacy to online data theft, the fear is always there. Generating huge amount of business was not in someone’s mind through work from home. But necessity is the mother of invention. If work from home was not implemented, then our industry would be in serious economic crisis.
Work from home is not an ideal situation for us due to additional cost implication. We also do not get the desired output. The task that requires one day takes around one-and-a-half days to complete with one machine in the office and another at the house of the person doing the work. So, per person we need two machines and internet bandwidth in both the places. We need additional Internet connection for the studio. Hence, the output goes down while the investment increases. To tackle this, it is feasible to work from home and manage the output better. Lot of changes are needed to successfully recalibrate work structure.
The advantage – Lot of films were already shot and were in post-production stage while some were shot but not edited. These films went on OTT platforms. If OTT was not there and theatres were completely shut down, then VFX industry would have been under serious strain. But with OTT on the rise and work from home possible we could deliver projects safely, securely and on time.
Are you planning to venture into the education sector?
We have education at the back of our minds as we do have internal training and module for our employees in the office. It all depends on the future. Post-Covid if there is demand for VFX artists we may start an institute to train interested students.
Going ahead what is the plan of Red Chillies VFX?
Major portion of employees will always be present in the office. Machines, infrastructure, IT structure, review rooms are in the 40,000 sq. ft office. As we plan to resume office, a portion of employees may always work from home. If demand rises we can hire more personnel and introduce them under #RCWoHo.
How do you see the future of this industry with trying times of the present?
During pandemic time the industry was in post-production stage and we got OTT platform. But if shoots do not start then we could face a slack as it takes a while from shooting to post-production stage where the shoot is edited, approved and then sent to the VFX studio. Although OTT released many films but shoots have not resumed due to Covid. If it does not resume soon it might create problems in the long run. So, it is very important for our industry for shoots to resume. Due to demands from IPL there have been an increase in ads. Certain films have restarted. Once shoots resume, things will start rolling. People are adapting to manage lives with Covid around.
What are your future plans?
We will continue to strive for new benchmarks, keep updating skill sets, adopt higher efficiency, give pathbreaking results and always bringing something new to the table. VFX will play a bigger role than before and Red Chillies VFX are ready for it.
