The list of new films promising to be “India’s first” in one way or another is a burgeoning one. From a zombie comedy to a war comedy, everyone’s looking for new ways to startle and impress. And the one film that has been talked about for a while in this aspect isn’t a Bollywood film, but a Tamil one.
South star Rajinikanth’s next is being touted as the country’s first film to be made using motion capture technology. And the woman at the helm is the star’s daughter, Soundarya Rajinikanth Ashwin, who will be making her directorial debut with the project.
Soundarya says she’s been working for years on the film, to learn about and use the technology that’s been used so far only in big-budget Hollywood films such as Avatar (2009), The Adventures of Tintin (2011) and Beowulf (2007). “I have been working on it for the last six years, learning about film animation techniques and production. With Kochadaiiyaan, we wanted to do something unique, so we decided to use motion capture technology, which has never been attempted in its full extent in India before,” says Soundarya.
The film is believed to be a dramatised good-versus-evil story, with Rajinikanth playing a superhero. Deepika Padukone will also be seen starring opposite Rajinikanth. During the shoot of a portion of the film in London, over 90 cameras were apparently used to shoot every single scene to capture the performance of each artiste from every angle. The company on board for Kochadaiiyaan’s motion capture process has also worked on Brad Pitt’s recent film, World War Z.
The film is believed to be a dramatised good-versus-evil story, with Rajinikanth playing a superhero. Deepika Padukone will also be seen starring opposite Rajinikanth. During the shoot of a portion of the film in London, over 90 cameras were apparently used to shoot every single scene to capture the performance of each artiste from every angle. The company on board for Kochadaiiyaan’s motion capture process has also worked on Brad Pitt’s recent film, World War Z.
“The technology truly captures the essence of the actor’s performance, but at the same time, it allowed us unlimited creativity on all grounds, from creating characters’ looks, building lavish sets, directing expansive fight sequences and creating elaborate costumes. I do hope this will be a game-changer for the Indian film industry,” says Soundarya.