Tupaki Analysis: Why Indian Cinema Taking Big VFX Risk
But it appears that several Indian film makers are taking a challenge that they simply cannot overcome.;
Indian cinema has been progressing through the ranks and has built the reputation of one of the most diverse film industries across the globe. But it appears that several Indian film makers are taking a challenge that they simply cannot overcome.
Indian cinema has been on an increasingly ambitious journey over the last decade, chasing the kind of visual spectacle that once felt exclusive to Hollywood.
From mythological epics to superhero universes, filmmakers across Bollywood and the regional industries have been pouring unprecedented budgets into VFX driven storytelling, convinced that scale and spectacle are the new currency of blockbuster cinema.
The results have been mixed at best. Every time a big budget Indian production leans heavily on computer generated visuals, it walks into the same trap. Audiences, now thoroughly conditioned by Marvel productions, the DC universe, and technically flawless Hollywood epics, hold every frame to an unforgiving global standard.
A creature that looks slightly off, a battle sequence that feels synthetic, or a landscape that screams green screen is enough to trigger a wave of mockery that drowns out everything else the film has to offer.
Adipurush was perhaps the most painful lesson. A film built entirely around its visual ambition became a case study in how VFX backlash can derail an entire release.
The latest to enter that conversation is Ramayana, carrying what is reportedly the largest budget in Indian film history and VFX backed by an Academy Award winning studio, yet still facing pointed criticism over its teaser visuals.
The fundamental problem is that announcing a massive budget raises audience expectations to Hollywood levels instantly. Indian cinema is clearly hungry to compete on that stage, but the gap between ambition and execution continues to be its most expensive blind spot.