In Jalsa, the climax places actor Surya Kasibhatla right next to the crashing waves of the sea. The teen actor, who has cerebral palsy, plays Vidya Balan’s son in the film. “It wasn’t safe to take him to the actual place to shoot that scene. In the discussions that happen before the film, we plan and decide which of these scenes should be done through VFX,” said Prakashan.
Sometimes, doing something through VFX is just simpler and saves time. “Take travel sequences. You have to rig the camera in the car, take a lot of different shots – profile to front, front to aerial…it’s very time consuming. What will take 2-4 days, you can do through VFX in way less time. Of course, VFX costs money, but if you consider taking so many people and shooting for so many days, VFX will be cheaper,” he added.
Incorporating VFX into the Filmmaking Process
With VFX techniques constantly evolving and the time taken to complete a project, there is always a risk that the film may end up looking dated by the time it releases or age badly. Kamalakannan admitted that he has worked on films where, in retrospect, he has felt that there was room for improvement in the VFX had he been given more time and funds. “I’m doing more daunting work today. I can’t tell you what it is exactly but it is quite complicated. That is also the joy of this job,” he said.
In old movies, a baby who was at least four or six months old was usually passed off as a newborn. But if you want to show a newborn today, VFX is a safe option. Take the Telugu action comedy Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020) where two babies are swapped at birth. Yugandhar Tammareddy, who was behind the VFX in the film, worked on small and big aspects – from the newborn’s face to the blue tag on the umbilical cord and the flashy action sequence featuring Allu Arjun weaponizing a dupatta.