‘Dhurandhar released on Thursday, we delivered final shot on Wednesday night’: Inside the world of VFX in Hindi cinema

Budget crunch 

Indeed, few would dispute the extent to which visual effects have transformed filmmaking over the past few years. Yet, across formats, one constraint continues to surface: budgets. It is often cited as a key reason Indian films struggle to match the scale seen in Western productions. Elaborating on this, Anand Bhanushali, also, Founder and Managing Director at philmCGI, says: “I think every producer has the same line they give us: the budget is low. That’s a standard reality in our industry. But then what really makes a difference is when we have complete involvement from the very beginning. So when the VFX supervisor, art director, director, Director of Photography, and others come together early, everyone is already aware of the budget constraints. We know what we have to work with.”  

Adding further he says, “From there, it becomes a coordinated effort. For instance, we might decide not to build an entire set physically and instead extend it through VFX. Or the art team might construct only a portion, knowing the rest will be enhanced digitally. It works both ways.” However, he notes that this is not always how projects are executed in practice. “Traditionally, VFX studios are brought in after the shoot is completed, which can lead to inefficiencies or even wastage if things weren’t shot correctly. But when a VFX supervisor is present on set, they can guide the process in real time, helping the director and team execute VFX-heavy shots more effectively.”

For Jigra, a fictional version of Singapore was created in Mumbai, with several elements added and enhanced using visual effects.

Gaglani agrees that early involvement is critical, particularly at the scripting stage, where creative ambition and practical limits are aligned from the outset. “I think everything starts with reading the script. If you already know the director, you usually have a sense of their vision. From that point, the first step is for everyone to sit together and start working on the budget. Alongside that, narration happens, not just once, but multiple times, sometimes three or four. Often, we collectively realise that something is going to be too expensive and simply not feasible within the budget. That’s when it goes back to the script stage, where all departments work together to simplify things.”

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He adds that these discussions extend across departments: “All the heads of departments, production design, VFX, costume, DOP, get involved. Everything is discussed in detail, right from the kind of cameras to be used. At some point, it becomes clear that the film is getting too expensive, and we start asking: can we rework the script more smartly? Can we make adjustments here and there?” Citing an example from Jigra, he explains how such collaboration plays out in practice: “For example, on Jigra, we had to create an entire ‘make-believe’ Singapore. The question was: do we actually go to Singapore and shoot, or do we build it somewhere else? We also needed people who would fit the look and feel of that setting. So how do we create that kind of world?”

He recalls, “Then the line producers weighed in, shooting abroad meant multiple shifts, higher costs, and a much bigger budget. So naturally, they turn to the VFX team and ask if there’s a way to achieve this more efficiently. From our end, we thought of finding a location that’s large enough, for instance, with enough space for cars to move and for us to build sets. We ended up scouting extensively across Mumbai and found a suitable location in Kandivali. That became the base where we could construct the market, the township, and everything else we needed.”

Gaglani says a similar situation arose during the making of Jubilee, created by Vikramaditya Motwane. The team initially considered filming in Sri Lanka, where sets from Bombay Velvet, previously shot by Anurag Kashyap, were expected to be available. However, a recce revealed they were no longer usable. The team then regrouped and opted to build an extensive set in Borivali instead, adapting their approach to stay within budget while maintaining the scale the story required.

Job of a VFX supervisor on set 

When asked about the role of a VFX supervisor on set, often assumed to be limited to post-production, Gaglani is quick to correct the notion. Because effective visual effects begin long before the edit. “To achieve good results, you have to be present on set from day one,” he says, explaining that the job involves planning every shot with a clear understanding of what will eventually be added in post, while also ensuring safety, especially during large-scale action set pieces, such as those in Dhurandhar.

“We keep the blasts on set to an absolute minimum, strictly following safety standards, nothing should be hazardous, not even a small piece of debris hitting anyone. Every position is carefully planned in advance, who stands where, how far, and in what direction. For example, if you look at the trailer, there’s a shot of Ranveer Singh walking with a blast behind him. Those are very small, controlled real blasts. The idea is not to create the full effect on set, but to capture some basic interaction, like how the light from the blast falls and how it feels visually. Even this is done within very strict safety parameters, ensuring there’s no risk to anyone.”

A pre-VFX still from Dhurandhar.

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Safety, he adds, is also essential to maintain flexibility during filming. “If one take doesn’t work, we need the flexibility to do a second or even a third take. That’s why safety is always the first priority, there are no compromises on that.” From there, the process shifts to post-production, where the VFX team builds on what has been captured on set: “After that, the VFX department takes over and enhances the shot further. For instance, we add elements like smoke in post-production. If a blast requires more smoke, we create and integrate it digitally. We generally avoid using fire on set; whatever limited fire is safely possible, we capture, and the rest is added later in post.” 

Gaglani explains that even complex action moments are constructed in stages rather than executed in one go. “Similarly, if a shot requires a person to be thrown by a blast, we don’t actually use the blast for that. It’s shot as a separate layer. The actor is secured with a harness and safely dropped onto padding. This is all carefully planned and executed. So essentially, these sequences are filmed in multiple layers and then combined to create the final effect.”

Delivered over 1000 VFX shots for Dhurandhar 

Speaking about the making of Dhurandhar, on which philmCGI was one of three agencies that worked, Bhanushali describes a production crafted as much by ambition as by time constraints. He tells that Dhar’s magnum opus came with a demanding schedule, even as it marked a long-awaited collaboration for his team at philmCGI. “The VFX production timeline for this film was about three months. In fact, the release date had already been announced quite early, around August or September. At that point, we only knew it was a single film; we had no idea it would eventually become a two-part release. That decision came later, quite suddenly, when we were informed that the film would be split into two parts. The first part was scheduled for a December release, while the second part didn’t have a release date yet.”

A post-VFX still from Dhurandhar.

He states that the compressed timeline left little room for error. “Even then, we had only about three months to complete the entire VFX production for the first part. It was intense, we kept wondering how we would finish everything in time. In total, we delivered over 1000 VFX shots for Part 1 and more than 700 shots for Part 2. The first part took about three months, and the second around two and a half months. For Part 1 especially, it went right down to the wire, the film released on a Thursday morning, and we delivered the final shot late Wednesday night. So we were all just refining it till the last minute.”

‘Good filmmakers always prefer to work with real elements’

With growing chatter around VFX, especially amid the rise of AI, both Gaglani and Bhanushali view it as a tool that can streamline workflows, but never replace creative intent. Arpan also pushes back against a common perception amplified on social media: that everything today is shot entirely against green or blue screens. “People who aren’t familiar with filmmaking often don’t realise that good filmmakers will always prefer to work with real elements wherever possible. It’s not just about the director, the actors also benefit greatly from it, as it gives them a more authentic experience to perform with. That said, within the overall scope of a film, there are certain sequences that require shooting on a chroma (green screen) floor, simply because what’s needed either doesn’t exist in reality or isn’t feasible to shoot on location. In those cases, we have no choice but to rely on chroma and build the environment digitally.”

In Jubilee, a richly detailed world was brought to life through a combination of practical sets and visual effects.

He added, “However, wherever possible, at least for me as a VFX supervisor, I strongly prefer to retain a majority of real, live-action elements. For example, in Jubilee, I avoided anything that was fully CG. My approach is usually to keep around 60–70% live-action and then enhance the remaining 30% through VFX.”

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Lack of discipline and vision 

Addressing the elephant in the room about why, despite significant spending and effort, Indian films often struggle to match the visual scale of Hollywood tentpoles like Avatar or the Marvel Studios slate, Gaglani points to process as much as capability. “We often collaborate with American companies, where there’s a strong discipline in place, especially when it comes to storyboarding and pre-production. A lot of groundwork is done before the film even goes on floors. If that level of discipline is followed, where the process is structured, thorough, and precise, I believe we can make that kind of cinema here as well.” 

He adds that the gap is not one of technical skill. It all also boils down to having a vision and then the capability to execute it. “The VFX capability is definitely there. We have teams across India who are fully capable of delivering high-quality work, which I guarantee right now. But it’s all a combination of a strong script and a director who can truly realise that vision, that’s when everything comes together. People often ask us, ‘Have you done this kind of VFX?’ And my response is, has the director made that kind of film here?”