Opinion: Vishwambhara DOP Is Half Right, Half Wrong!

When the trailer of megastar Chiranjeevi's highly anticipated visual effects fantasy film, Vishwambhara, came out, there was a lot of criticism regarding the quality of the VFX used. At the same time, cinematographer and senior-most Tollywood DOP, Chota K Naidu, also got blamed for the poor output.

Finally, after ages, Chota came in front of the media, a question was raised regarding the same, and the DOP got a bit emotional and gave strong counters. He alleged that people in the VFX department are spreading bad news about his work, but in reality, it’s their work that got smashed. During this process, he made some comments, which are half right and half wrong.

“Even if the lighting is wrong, or the way the stage is being composed is wrong, I cannot say no to that. Whether the opposite VFX guy (VFX Supervisor, he means) is a novice, expert, or a dumb, I have to listen to him, no matter what,” said Chota K Naidu.

This is wrong to say, because making a film is a collaborative effort and it involves listening to various technicians like VFX Supervisor, Storyboard Artist, Animators, Rig-operators, Visual Artists, and many more. Even a director like SS Rajamouli and his able DOP Senthil listened to some of the newest miniature artists from Europe to create the famous train-tanker clash scene in the acclaimed RRR movie.

He then said something interesting: “There’s ₹400 crores budget involved behind the film, hence we are bending our heads down to work on this film, but not throwing the weight around because I’ve done a movie like Anji and Damarukam that won Filmfare and other awards,” asserted Chota.

This is right, because any technician has to bend his head for the budget being poured by the producers on the movie, and then only the output will come out extraordinary. Even though Vishawmbhara is delayed, the film’s quality should make the audience feel an immersive experience.