‘In All Oscars We Have Won, India Has Played A Role’

‘When
I
started
to
step
into
the
West
in
2006,
I
believed
India
was
not
going
to
be
the
back
end.’
‘I
understood
that
no
film-maker
wants
to
believe
that
they
are
outsourcing
their
creativity
to
a
low-end
place.’
‘The
application
of
technology
in
the
hands
of
our
Indian
artistes
is
identical
to
any
of
our
artists
in
the
West.’
‘Nobody
in
the
world
can
say
this
shot
was
done
in
India
and
that
in
London.’

Last
month,
visual
effects
major
DNEG,
a
subsidiary
of
the
Rs
4,167
crore
(Rs
41.67
billion)
Mumbai-based
Prime
Focus,
secured
Rs
200
million
(about
Rs
1,669
crore)
in
funding
from
Abu
Dhabi-based
investor
United
Al
Saqer
Group
(UASG).

Namit
Malhotra,
founder
Prime
Focus
and
CEO
DNEG,
tells

Vanita
Kohli-Khandekar
about
the
firm’s
Oscar-winning
work
in
Hollywood.

“Across
the
world,
it
is
challenging
to
put
big
productions
into
action.
For
example,
we
recently
co-produced

Garfield
and

Brahmastra.
When
our
film-maker
partners
come
to
us
with
an
idea
they
want
to
know,
how
can
we
make
it,
and
how
much
will
it
cost.
Sometimes,
their
ambition
far
exceeds
their
budget.”

What
is
Prime
Focus’s
role
in
the
success
of

Dune,
Kalki
or

Interstellar?

The
DNA
of
the
business
is
closely
tied
to
the
film-maker’s
vision.

Take

Interstellar
where
the
director’s
(Christopher
Nolan’s)
vision
is
that
we
show
the
world
what
happens
when
you
travel
through
time
and
space
through
the
wormhole.

There
is
no
evidence
of
what
that
means.
There
has
been
no
rendition
of
any
imagery
of
it.

DNEG
worked
with
theoretical
physicist
and
Nobel
Prize
winner
Kip
Thorne.

We
worked
with
his
scientific
formulae,
coding
that
into
various
simulations
to
render
something
that
the
scientific
journals
said
was
‘as
accurate
as
it
gets.’

The
success
of

Interstellar
is
a
clear
rendition
of
how
art
has
led
science,
which
has
never
been
the
case
historically.

In

Dune,
an
equally
auteur
director,
Denis
Villeneuve
had
this
magnificent
vision
of
what
he
wanted
to
bring
to
life.

Our
contribution
was
aligning
with
the
film-maker.
That
is
when
the
film
becomes
more
than
a
2-3-hour
piece
of
entertainment
into
something
that
has
lasting
impressions
in
the
audience’s
mind.

At
what
stage
do
you
get
involved?

This
happens
at
scripting
stage
and
the
idea
level
with
the
film-maker
who
is
briefing
us
with
what
they
want
to
create.

They
don’t
know
how
it
will
happen,
we
do
not
know
how
it
will
happen.
We
do
a
bunch
of
R&D
to
show
them
how
it
could
happen
and
how
we
could
do
it.

The
interesting
thing
is
we
can
do

Interstellar
or

Oppenheimer
with
the
same
director
but
the
budget
(for
visual
effects)
is
one-tenth
of

Oppenheimer
compared
to
what
it
may
have
been
on

Interstellar.

But
in
the
quality
of
work
or
delivery,
there
is
no
difference.
On
costs
—
we
operate
on
say
2
to
3
per
cent
of
a
film’s
budget
to
40
to
50
per
cent.

On
the
pyramid
of
services
on
offer,
where
does
DNEG
sit?
And
where
does
India
fit?

DNEG
sits
absolutely
at
the
top
of
the
pyramid.

Interstellar
and

Dune
are
solo
renditions
of
what
we
have
tried.

(Prime
Focus
was
set
up
in
1997)
When
I
started
to
step
into
the
West
in
2006,
I
believed
India
was
not
going
to
be
the
back
end.

I
understood
that
no
film-maker
wants
to
believe
that
they
are
outsourcing
their
creativity
to
a
low-end
place.

The
application
of
technology
in
the
hands
of
our
Indian
artistes
is
identical
to
any
of
our
artists
in
the
West.

In
all
the
Oscars
we
have
won,
India
has
played
a
considerable
role
in
those
films.

Nobody
in
the
world
can
say
this
shot
was
done
in
India
and
that
in
London.

Can
you
take
us
through
the
reasoning
for
raising
this
$200
million?

We
have
been
very
judicious
about
raising
capital
and
dilution.

I
continue
to
be
the
largest
shareholder
personally
of
the
group
with
70
per
cent
of
the
Indian
public
company.

This
has
not
happened
by
accident.
I
am
talking
to
you
in
the
week
we
closed
the
DNEG
deal
ten
years
ago.

We
built
it
up
from
being
a
London-based
boutique
firm
of
700
artists
to
10,000
artists
globally.

Now,
we
are
pivoting
to
launch
a
content
platform
under
Prime
Focus
studios.

We
also
launching
an
AI
(artificial
intelligence)
powered
technology
stack
for
the
photo
real
CGI
(computer
graphics
interface).

What
about
the
conflict
if
you
try
to
create
content?

Across
the
world,
it
is
challenging
to
put
big
productions
into
action.
For
example,
we
recently
co-produced

Garfield
and

Brahmastra.

When
our
film-maker
partners
come
to
us
with
an
idea
they
want
to
know,
how
can
we
make
it,
and
how
much
will
it
cost.

Sometimes,
their
ambition
far
exceeds
their
budget.

We
are
now
saying,
you
don’t
need
to
look
for
more
financial
partners
or
scale
back
your
ambition.

It
is
a
positive
enabler
rather
than
a
threat
to
anybody.

For
instance,
we
are
creating,
producing,
and
funding

Ramayana
(directed
by
Nitesh
Tiwari).

The
ambition
is
to
stand
next
to
the

Dunes,
Avatars
and
the
biggest
movies.

What
are
the
big
trends
in
storytelling?

It
is
an
interesting
time.
You
have
all
these
wearable
devices,
VR
(visual
reality),
and
a
host
of
new
experiences
touted
in
the
world
of
visual
effects
and
storytelling.

We
have
got
a
film
called

Here
where
we
have
taken
Tom
Hanks
and
made
him
look
like
a
25
year
old.

The
opportunity
for
pushing
the
barriers
in
storytelling
are
at
a
level
where
I
tell
film-makers,
“If
you
can
dream
it,
we
can
do
it.”

We
have
gone
past
that
stage
of
technology
that
doesn’t
support
this
or
time
or
money
don’t
support
this.

What
does
AI
mean
to
your
business?

AI
is
nothing
but
faster
and
more
dynamic
ability
to
create
something
by
training
the
machine.

We
are
in
the
business
of
creating
these
bespoke
images
or
these
different
characters
or
worlds.

If
we
can
power
our
machines
with
AI
we
can
do
it
faster,
better,
and
cheaper.