Anushka Sharma and her brother Karnesh Sharma's love for cutting edge visual effects (VFX) in their production ventures Phillauri, Pari and now Bulbbul is clearly visible. Much to their credit, they have been pushing the envelope in creating unique visual experiences for audiences. Incidentally, all three films are supernatural-feminist films, a sub-genre that their production house Clean Slate Filmz have created for the first time in Bollywood.
Anushka says, “For us, how uniquely we tell a story is extremely important and we have always tried to tell our stories as differently as possible. I have always felt that a visual trigger to storytelling is key to hold the attention of audiences today and it also allows us an unexpectedly new route to present an idea that has never been seen before by audiences.”
She adds, “Karnesh and I have always wanted to break-away from traditional ways of telling a story because we feel people have seen enough of the formula and are done with them. They are always looking to immerse themselves into something new. That’s been our biggest strength. From Phillauri, Pari and now Bulbbul, while we have accidentally created a sub-genre of supernatural feminism films, we have consciously told the story through the lens of clutter-breaking visual effects.”
Karnesh is delighted that Bulbbul’s VFX has been hailed unanimously. The use of symbolism like the red moon to evoke elements of rebellion, passion and revolution has been lapped up by audiences and critics alike and also made Bulbbul a fascinating and gripping watch.
“Our focus towards visual effects to enhance storytelling is one of the reasons why these films have stood out and won the hearts of audiences. The strong visual effects in our projects have added to the surreal-ness of the stories that we intended to tell and heightened its impact,” he says.
Karnesh adds, “The red moon in Bulbbul has been highly talked about because it’s something unique and we wanted to use this symbolism. It adds to the aesthetic and it plays up the symbolism that revolution against oppression is the call of the hour. It worked wonderfully in our storytelling and we are glad that audiences loved this devise and gave us two thumbs up for sticking our necks out.”
image source: instagram/anushkasharma