2,800 VFX shots, 18 VFX studios created visual spectacle of ‘RRR’

Hyderabad, March 30  V. Srinivas Mohan, the visual effects supervisor of ‘RRR’, has opened up on key sequences of the magnum

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Mohan, who had interacted with the media post the movie release, explains what went into making the iconic scenes in ‘RRR’.

Rating his work for S.S. Rajamouli’s ‘RRR’ as the most satisfying one, Srinivas Mohan says he was briefed by Rajamouli only about enhancing the storytelling, rather than overshadowing it.

What took them seven months to complete, the movie’s iconic VFX shots were done by a team that involved the visual effects team, Sabu Cyril’s production design department, and cinematographer KK Senthil Kumar.

“I joined forces with 18 VFX studios for this movie. Coordinating with such a big team is one task and the film had nearly 2,800 VFX shots”, Mohan explained.

“Now that the movie is released and many of the viewers cannot even spot the VFX, it is satisfying. Because, when the VFX does not distract viewers from the drama unfolding on screen, it is a win,” says Mohan.

“The action sequences involving animals – tigers, bears, wolves, and antelopes in one of the most important sequences, called for extensive pre-visualisation”, he conveyed.

As he went on to share his experience with the movie, Mohan revealed that they had to liberally use radio-controlled cars, miniature cams, and many more, to get those visually grand sequences.

“We had designed the animal-fight scene in 3D on a computer, then used an Ncam (which aids virtual production through real-time camera tracking) on location. We took assistance from IIT Madras students, who helped us set an LED strip. It was programmed to move like animals”, the VFX supervisor explains.

“To replicate those animals, we had installed radio-controlled cars. Cars were programmed to be operated at specific speeds, and the actors were choreographed to create a synchronisation,” he said.

Srinivas Mohan concludes that all of these tasks were done keeping in the mind that they had to deliver a realistic sequence each time.

Speaking about another VFX scene, Mohan conveyed that they had to work on the pressure gauges of the water pipes, which would go in sync with the fire, which was done with the VFX.

Mohan has worked as a digital compositor and VFX supervisor for several Tamil films, particularly those directed by Shankar, which are famous for visual graphics.

Mohan has won four National Awards for Best Special Effects for Tamil films ‘Magic Magic’, ‘Sivaji’, ‘Enthiran’ (Robo), and the Telugu blockbuster ‘Baahubali’.

Having bagged another biggie in Ram Charan and Shankar Shanmugam’s movie, Mohan is currently on a break so he can recharge for the hectic time ahead.