Bade Miyan Chote Miyan director Ali Abbas Zafar on AI, use of VFX in cinema: ‘A giant we’ll have to fight’

Bade Miyan Chote Miyan has been extensively shot in the deserts of Saudi Arabia, and the Jordanian desert Wadi Rum. On being asked why he chooses to shoot films in real locations instead of sets, Ali says, “As someone who loves movies, as a filmmaker, I feel more excited when I am on a live location. There are a lot of filmmakers in India as well as abroad who like to use VFX just as a support tool. That doesn’t mean there is anything wrong in if you use VFX (as more than a support tool).”

Ali also says he is open to the idea of using VFX in filmmaking but only if his subject demands it. “Tomorrow if I have a story which is designed for VFX, maybe I’ll do a complete story as a VFX driven story. Like tomorrow if you have to do like Barbie or La La Land kind of a world, or fantasy world like Lord of the Rings then you mix VFX and reality. But those are all fantasy films. Bade Miyan Chote Miyan is an action drama comedy which has to make you feel that if there is a burn on the actor’s skin, you feel that heat in the theatre and for that you have to use real fire, you can’t use VFX fire because that’s not going to give you the same feel. So, the idea is that all of this depends on the kind of the film. I personally want to use VFX as a support tool rather than making it the primary way of telling stories,” he shares.

The use of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in filmmaking is picking up pace, but Ali is wary of it “interfering” with the film’s writing process. Ali says, “AI is a kind of a giant which we’ll have to fight till we can.”

On why AI should not take up the creative space, Ali says, “I am not a very big fan of AI but at the same time I don’t want to deny the power of AI is bringing to the creative field, or any other field for that matter. But there will be a struggle definitely. For me, using AI more for visual story telling is still ok, but I just don’t want AI to start interfering in the creative space of writing stories or creating content which is the base of filmmaking or any literary art. I always feel any story, any piece of creative material starts from writing. Whether it’s music, you write it first, it is a different way of writing but it is called writing music. You write a book, a script, it’s the writing that is the base that takes structure. I don’t want AI to enter in that space, of writing, because that will really kill us as creative people.”

Ali is making a big screen comeback after five years. His last theatrical outing was Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif’s Bharat in 2019. When asked if he’s feeling the box office pressure, he says it has become difficult to predict if the audiences will step out to watch a film in a cinema hall after the pandemic.

He says, “My jitters are that, post pandemic, people have become very moody. Sometimes they come and they come three times in numbers than what you expect and sometimes they don’t come at all. I just want them to come and enjoy. We are very confident of our material because it is primarily designed to entertain the audience. Yes, there is a beautiful heart, which you’ll discover in the film and I feel it is a big screen spectacle which will engage the audience.”

“It is not meant to be watched on an OTT platform, it deserves community viewing. On the other hand Bloody Daddy was a very intimate film, and we decided that despite Shahid Kapoor leading it, should go on an OTT platform. Bade Miyan Chote Miyan is a clean family entertainer, there are no curse words, you can watch with your kids, you can watch it with your elder parents. It is a true blue action film designed for families,” Ali concludes.