Kahaani special effects ki!

From seemingly unreal action to virtual reality, special effects on Indian television have come a long way

DEEPALI DHINGRA

Put on a DVD of Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan and chances are, you will find yourself smiling at the special effects used in the serial, made in 1986. Two decades later, the technology used in television serials is almost as good as that used in Bollywood films. What's more, almost every other serial today, uses some or the other form of special effects, in order to enhance the production value of the show. Says Jyoti Sagar, who's in-charge of special effects for serials like Haatim, Star Plus' Antariksh, Lucky and Prithviraj Chauhan, "Earlier, budgets for television production wouldn't allow for such effects. Today, with the help of cost effective tools, we can create sizable amount of work." So how does that help the show? "With the help of special effects, we can create locations like huge palaces and castles, as it would be impossible for TV shows to be shot there. For a war scene in
Prithviraj Chauhan, we had to show an army of soldiers. So we shot with a few people and with the multiplication effect, we could show an entire army," he explains.
Kushal Punjabi, who enacts the character of Chalang in Antariksh, says that if real life action comes in conjunction with some animation or graphics, it just adds to the scene. "Then it becomes a blend of what people can relate to and the supernatural. Of course, it depends on the special effects guys to make it look good or bad," he adds.
Going by the audience reactions, they seem to be lapping up these shows, especially the kids. Says Madhur Chanana, a standard four student, "I love watching Lucky and Antariksh. The special effects are just awesome!"
Jyoti Sagar adds that even though special effects shown on television might not be at par with the kind shown in films, the audience are liking it, which explains the number of serials dealing with them. "The quantum of special effects work in films is less, therefore there is a lot of detailing but definitely some work on TV is equally good," he adds.