Ever since the glimpse of Ramayana dropped a few days ago, the internet has not stopped talking about the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer. While some praised the grand visuals and music, others gave a mixed reaction to the use of VFX. Actor Hrithik Roshan took note of the social media chatter around VFX and made a new post on his Instagram where he talked about audience perception of VFX and why it can be the filmmaker’s intent too that needs to be taken into consideration.
Hrithik defends use of VFX in films
Hrithik began in his note, “Yes bad VFX exists. It’s sometimes so bad it’s painful to watch. Especially for me… and especially when it’s a film I’m part of. As an 11 year old kid I saw Back to the Future on a trip to London and it changed me forever. I became obsessed. I would sit with my dad’s VHS player studying the frames pause -play pause-play until I broke the player.”
He went on to give the example of Ramayana and then added, “Today some special humans among us, like the makers of films like Kalki 2898 AD, Baahubali, Ramayana, ( also my dad for Koi Mil Gaya and Krrish ofcourse) are my heroes, they have the guts and vision to do what’s never been done – all for the love of cinema so that we – the audience get to experience something never watched before. From my point of view, they risked all that money, and years and years of effort just so another 11 year old kid could feel what I felt. To me, that’s noble. The intention by itself deserves applause! I am proud of my fellow Indians. What I would give to be a part of such dreams even as an assistant. But this post is not about me, it’s about us, the audience. Thing is, it takes thousands of our artistes working round the clock for multiple years to bring vfx heavy films to life so the least we can do is bash them with some better awareness!”
He added, “In my little understanding from the little that I have learnt is that there are different VFX styles adopted by makers to bring their vision to life. It’s like in comics or animation – some prefer ANIME style but that’s not as realistic as spider man-into the spider verse. You can like one style over the other but neither is wrong.” Concluding his note, Hrithik said, “you can’t criticize the maker just cause he has chosen one style while you prefer another style. Thats not fair. So sometimes when you say “bad VFX.” Maybe it’s just a style you didn’t expect? So next time don’t just ask, “Is it real?” First ask, “Is it right for the story?” “Is it making me feel what the maker intended?” Debate it. But debate it with awareness.”
Hrithik responds to fans
A fan asked him in the comments, “Loved this perspective sir. As an audience, how can we train our eye to understand the intent behind VFX instead of just judging realism? Any simple way you’d suggest for beginners like us?”
Hrithik replied, “I guess – wait till you watch the entire movie before you judge. Till then hold your opinion.”
Another asked, “Hi sir, big fan. Do you think that makers should give more time to post-production at least now, since we see a lot of unfinished VFX getting criticised? Why to release the unfinished product in the first place?” The actor replied, “yeah that is truly a mystery.”
About Ramayana
Helmed by Nitesh Tiwari, the film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Yash as Ravana, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Ravi Dubey and Lakshman and Sunny Deol as Lord Hanuman. Legendary composer Hans Zimmer joins AR Rahman for the music score. Ramayana Part One is set to release worldwide in October 2026, ahead of Diwali.
