The Pointless Rituals For The Dead!!! Based on excerpts from Srinivas Rangaraj

What's the point in performing N number of rituals for close to 10-14 days, The person is DEAD!!!! PERIOD!!!! Out of sheer respect & duty u may/can dissolve their ashes in the river performing basic rituals. After that there's absolutely no need for the other rituals. If u have respected them, treated them with dignity when they were alive i don't think they would want u to waste your precious time and money performing Shraatham/Devasam/Last rites.. They would have died with the satisfaction that u have been kind to them!!! There ain't going to be any crappy "paap" or "sin" or 'wrath'' that's going to fall upon us. I think we need to stop believing in such silly/superstitious rituals. Everyone has to die one fine day. Today it might be x, tomorrow it will be one of us, But surely i wouldn't want people wasting their time doing Multiple day rituals after my time. If your done with the cremation/dissolving the ashes, Please move on!!!!!! GET ON WITH LIFE FOR FUCKS SAKE!!!! All your going to end up is over paying all these priests who have a grand opportunity to loot u when that bloody money can be of some use for a better cause/situation!!!

People are amazing - A STORY THAT NEEDS TO BE SHARED

Here is an amazing story from a flight attendant on Delta Flight 15, written following 9-11: On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, we were about 5 hours out of Frankfurt, flying over the North Atlantic.All of a sudden the curtains parted and I was told to go to the cockpit, immediately, to see the captain. As soon as I got there I noticed that the crew had that "All Business" look on their faces. The captain handed me a printed message. It was from Delta's main office in Atlanta and simply read, "All airways over the Continental United States are closed to commercial air traffic. Land ASAP at the nearest airport. Advise your destination." No one said a word about what this could mean. We knew it was a serious situation and we needed to find terra firma quickly. The captain determined that the nearest airport was 400 miles behind us in Gander, New Foundland. He requested approval for a route change from the Canadian traffic controller and approval was granted immediately -- no questions asked. We found out later, of course, why there was no hesitation in approving our request. While the flight crew prepared the airplane for landing, another message arrived from Atlanta telling us about some terrorist activity in the New York area. A few minutes later word came in about the hijackings. We decided to LIE to the passengers while we were still in the air. We told them the plane had a simple instrument problem and that we needed to land at the nearest airport in Gander, New Foundland, to have it checked out. We promised to give more information after landing in Gander. There was much grumbling among the passengers, but that's nothing new! Forty minutes later, we landed in Gander. Local time at Gander was 12:30 PM! .... that's 11:00 AM EST. There were already about 20 other airplanes on the ground from all over the world that had taken this detour on their way to the U.S. After we parked on the ramp, the captain made the following announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, you must be wondering if all these airplanes around us have the same instrument problem as we have. The reality is that we are here for another reason." Then he went on to explain the little bit we knew about the situation in the U.S. There were loud gasps and stares of disbelief. The captain informed passengers that Ground control in Gander told us to stay put. The Canadian Government was in charge of our situation and no one was allowed to get off the aircraft. No one on the ground was allowed to come near any of the air crafts. Only airport police would come around periodically, look us over and go on to the next airplane. In the next hour or so more planes landed and Gander ended up with 53 airplanes from all over the world, 27 of which were U.S. commercial jets. Meanwhile, bits of news started to come in over the aircraft radio and for the first time we learned that airplanes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York and into the Pentagon in DC. People were trying to use their cell phones, but were unable to connect due to a different cell system in Canada. Some did get through, but were only able to get to the Canadian operator who would tell them that the lines to the U.S. were either blocked or jammed. Sometime in the evening the news filtered to us that the World Trade Center buildings had collapsed and that a fourth hijacking had resulted in a crash. By now the passengers were emotionally and physically exhausted, not to mention frightened, but everyone stayed amazingly calm. We had only to look out the window at the 52 other stranded aircraft to realize that we were not the only ones in this predicament. We had been told earlier that they would be allowing people off the planes one plane at a time. At 6 PM, Gander airport told us that our turn to deplane would be 11 am the next morning. Passengers were not happy, but they simply resigned themselves to this news without much noise and started to prepare themselves to spend the night on the airplane. Gander had promised us medical attention, if needed, water, and lavatory servicing. And they were true to their word. Fortunately we had no medical situations to worry about. We did have a young lady who was 33 weeks into her pregnancy. We took REALLY good care of her. The night passed without incident despite the uncomfortable sleeping arrangements. About 10:30 on the morning of the 12th a convoy of school buses showed up. We got off the plane and were taken to the terminal where we went through Immigration and Customs and then had to register with the Red Cross. After that we (the crew) were separated from the passengers and were taken in vans to a small hotel. We had no idea where our passengers were going. We learned from the Red Cross that the town of Gander has a population of 10,400 people and they had about 10,500 passengers to take care of from all the airplanes that were forced into Gander! We were told to just relax at the hotel and we would be contacted when the U.S. airports opened again, but not to expect that call for a while. We found out the total scope of the terror back home only after getting to our hotel and turning on the TV, 24 hours after it all started. Meanwhile, we had lots of time on our hands and found that the people of Gander were extremely friendly. They started calling us the "plane people." We enjoyed their hospitality, explored the town of Gander and ended up having a pretty good time. Two days later, we got that call and were taken back to the Gander airport. Back on the plane, we were reunited with the passengers and found out what they had been doing for the past two days. What we found out was incredible. Gander and all the surrounding communities (within MATCH about a 75 Kilometer radius) had closed all high schools, meeting halls, lodges, and any other large gathering places. They converted all these facilities to mass lodging areas for all the stranded travelers.Some had cots set up, some had mats with sleeping bags and pillows set up. ALL the high school students were required to volunteer their time to take care of the "guests." Our 218 passengers ended up in a town called Lewisporte, about 45 kilometers from Gander where they were put up in a high school. If any women wanted to be in a women-only facility, that was arranged. Families were kept together. All the elderly passengers were taken to private homes. Remember that young pregnant lady? She was put up in a private home right across the street from a 24-hour Urgent Care facility. There was a dentist on call and both male and female nurses remained with the crowd for the duration. Phone calls and e-mails to the U.S. and around the world were available to everyone once a day. During the day, passengers were offered "Excursion" trips. Some people went on boat cruises of the lakes and harbors. Some went for hikes in the local forests. Local bakeries stayed open to make fresh bread for the guests. Food was prepared by all the residents and brought to the schools. People were driven to restaurants of their choice and offered wonderful meals. Everyone was given tokens for local laundry mats to wash their clothes, since luggage was still on the aircraft. In other words, every single need was met for those stranded travelers. Passengers were crying while telling us these stories. Finally, when they were told that U.S. airports had reopened, they were delivered to the airport right on time and without a single passenger missing or late. The local Red Cross had all the information about the whereabouts of each and every passenger and knew which plane they needed to be on and when all the planes were leaving. They coordinated everything beautifully. It was absolutely incredible. When passengers came on board, it was like they had been on a cruise. Everyone knew each other by name. They were swapping stories of their stay, impressing each other with who had the better time. Our flight back to Atlanta looked like a chartered party flight. The crew just stayed out of their way. It was mind-boggling. Passengers had totally bonded and were calling each other by their first names, exchanging phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses. And then a very unusual thing happened. One of our passengers approached me and asked if he could make an announcement over the PA system. We never, ever allow that. But this time was different. I said "of course" and handed him the mike. He picked up the PA and reminded everyone about what they had just gone through in the last few days. He reminded them of the hospitality they had received at the hands of total strangers. He continued by saying that he would like to do something in return for the good folks of Lewisporte. "He said he was going to set up a Trust Fund under the name of DELTA 15 (our flight number). The purpose of the trust fund is to provide college scholarships for the high school students of Lewisporte. He asked for donations of any amount from his fellow travelers. When the paper with donations got back to us with the amounts, names, phone numbers and addresses, the total was for more than $14,000! "The gentleman, a MD from Virginia, promised to match the donations and to start the administrative work on the scholarship. He also said that he would forward this proposal to Delta Corporate and ask them to donate as well. As I write this account, the trust fund is at more than $1.5 million and has assisted 134 students in college education. "I just wanted to share this story because we need good stories right now. It gives me a little bit of hope to know that some people in a faraway place were kind to some strangers who literally dropped in on them. It reminds me how much good there is in the world." "In spite of all the rotten things we see going on in today's world this story confirms that there are still a lot of good people in the world and when things get bad, they will come forward. via Cdr Sharan Ahuja Sja

Review of Epic Novel Series "Ponniyin Selvan"

Who should be the king? This was the question that members and enemies of the Chozha dynasty were asking each other in 10th century Tamil Nadu and the incidents around this episode forms the plot for R. Krishnamurthy’s (pen name: Kalki) epic novel Ponniyin Selvan. This novel was first published in serial form in the Tamil weekly magazine Kalki from 1950 – 1954. Though Krishnamurthy wrote a large number of short stories, it was as a novelist that he got fame. He was also the first significant historical novelist in Tamil and his other works include Parthiban Kanavu and Sivagamiyin Sabatham. Parantaka Chozha was succeeded by his second son Kandaraditha as the first son Rajaditha had died in a battle. On the death of Kandaraditha, his son Maduranthaka was a child and hence Kandaraditha’s brother Arinjaya ascended the throne. After Arinjaya’s death, his son Parantaka II, Sundara Choza was coronated. He had two sons, Aditha Karikalan and Arulmozhi Varman and a daughter Kundavai. When the story starts, the emperor Sundara Chola is ill and bedridden. Aditha Karikalan is the general of the Northen Command and lived in Kanchi and Arulmozhi Varman (who would be famous later as Rajaraja Chola I) is in Sri Lanka in battle and their sister Kundavai Piratti lived in Chola royal household at Pazhayari. The story is set in motion, when rumor starts that there is a conspiracy against Sundara Chozhar and his sons. One person who gets a glimpse of the Pandya conspirators is a warrior of the Vana clan Vallavarayan Vandiyathevan. Even though the book is titled Ponniyin Selvan, the hero of the book is Vandiyathevan, a friend of Adhitha Karikalan. It is through Vandiyathevan that we meet most of the characters in the novel such as Arulmozhi Varman, the prince whom all the people loved and Periya Pazhavetturayar, the chancellor who married Nandini when he was sixty. During his youth Aditha Karikalan had fallen in love with Nandini, but she turned vengeful after Aditha Karikalan killed Veerapadyan (who was either Nandini’s father or brother) and vowed to destroy the Chozha dynasty. We also meet Kundavai Devi, who after hearing the news of the conspiracy sends Vandiyathevan to Sri Lanka to give a message to Arulmozhi Varman to come back immediately. The Chozha dynasty Besides these, there are other characters like Maduranthaka Thevar, the son of Kandaraditha and the man whom the conspirators want to crown king, and Anirudha Brahmarayar, Sundara Chozhar’s Prime Minister and the man who has eyes and ears everywere. But the most wonderful character in the book is Brahmarayar’s spy Azhwarkadiyan Nambi, a Vaishnavite, who roams around the country challenging Saivaites for debates. He collects information for the Prime Minister and is always around Vandiyathevan, rescuing him during trouble. There are some lovely women too, like Vanathi, the Kodumbalur princess who is in love with Arulmozhi, Poonkuzhali, the boat woman who rows the future king to Lanka, Mandakini, the deaf and dumb step mother and Rakkammal, the wife of a boatman who supports the Pandya conspirators. Most memorable among these is Nandini, who has the power to make influence any man. With the help of a boat girl, Vandiyathevan reaches Sri Lanka and meets Ponniyin Selvan and becomes his close friend. In Lanka, Ponniyin Selvan realizes that his father had spent some time in an island near Lanka and had been with a girl born deaf and dumb. He meets her and realizes from her drawing that he had two children. Who are those children and do they have the right to the throne? Later one day in Thirupurambayam forest Vandiyathevan seens Nandini and the Pandya conspirators place a small boy on a throne and take a vow in front of him. Who is this boy and what right does he have to the thone? This is the kind of suspense that is maintained throughout the novel. While coming back from Lanka, Ponniyin Selvan is caught in a cyclone and goes missing. Rumor spreads that he is dead, but he survives and stays at Choodamani Viharam, a Buddhist monastery in Nagapattinam. Then slowly the dispersed family starts asembling. The conspirators meanwhile choose one day in which both the king and both his sons would be assasinated. Will the conspirators succeed in killing Sundara Chozha and crowning Madhuranthaka as the king or will Ponniyin Selvan be the king? That is the summary for the story. But then it is not that simple either for all the people in the novel have long histories of interaction with each other and everything is not as black and white as it seems. There are new revelations and relations being established all the time. and even when you think you can predict what is going to happen, new surprises pop up. Even though this is a work of fiction loosely based on historical facts, some incidents are left without a closure such as the question – who murdered Aditha Karikalan. Various people confess to doing it, but even at the end, a doubt remains. The three strengths of Kalki are plot, characters and dialogue.There is not even one dull moment in this 1800 page book. Suspense is maintained throughout the novel and when you think you have understood his techniques, the characters themselves reveal that they are not who you think they are. Even the last book is a page turner due to the unexpected turn of events. For a novel of this size, there are many characters like spies, magicians, warriors, soothsayers and Buddhists, and since the novel is this big, we get to know each of them very well. The dialogue between the characters are very poetic which looks odd in English. I am sure would have sounded beautiful in Tamil. There are couple of points of irritation also. The author for some reason decides to pop into the novel at some places and give some commentary which is sometimes a detail about history, or a rationalization of events. This intervention broke the flow and I felt would have been more appropriate as an appendix or a separate article. In the book, Vandiyathevan goes to Sri Lanka in a boat rowed by the boatwoman Poonkuzhali, but there is very less detail of the type of boat or how they were able to navigate the ocean. In many places such technical details are glossed over. This was originally published in Tamil, but thanks to the translation by C.V.Karthik Narayanan, non-Tamil reading people like me can enjoy this classic work. People who can read Tamil have certified that this translation is excellent. Though this book is quite lengtly, (6 books, each of about 300 pages), it is a page turner .

Book Review of "The Secret Of The Nagas"

Read the book long back.... Here's the review!

"The Book takes of from where ‘The Immortals of Meluha’ the first book of ended.The plot is consistent and all the loose ends connect to a complete pattern. Story as before is fast-paced, you are eager to know what comes next.Other old characters such as Nandi, Veerbhadra and Drapaku have smaller roles, instead a Chandravanshi prince Bhagirath is the new character that has his own intriguing sub-plot. General Parvateshwar, Shiva’s trusted Suryavanshi aide from previous book, a vowed celibate has fallen in love (oops, a spoiler – but now you need to find out who).But on the downside,there was a slight overdose of Melodrama which could have been told in a more subtle way.But then again its just my opinion.Let's Hope the errors or lets say the minor goofs in this book are not repeated in the final part of the trilogy "The Oath Of The Vayuputras" and get a compelling Finale of the trilogy.

Synopsis of "The Secret Of The Nagas" - The Secret of the Nagas is filled with intrigue and surprises, much like the previous installment, The Immortals of Meluha. The story kicks off with Shiva trying to decipher the motives of the Nagas, a race of deformed assassins who have killed his friend Brahaspati and are targeting his wife Sati. His path of vengeance leads him right to the land of the serpent race, where he needs to find the man who's the mastermind behind the elaborate attack planned on Meluha.

Shiva's journey throws many surprises at him, as he learns about the secret lying dormant in Maika, a city in Meluha where the newly-born are raised, and as his trusted advisors leave his side, fueled by darker motives.

Will Shiva uncover the truth and vanquish the Chandravanshis and Nagas?

Book Review of "The Immortals Of Meluha"

The Immortals Of Meluha- My review... Note: I was an Atheist before reading this book,Still an Atheist and will be An Atheist... :)
The Author himself has Told the Inevitable truth thru the book.. It was the deeds of the so called gods as Human that pushed people into believing that He(or they) are some kind of a Celestial phenomenon.. The author has cleverly borrowed characters and clans from the various Indian Epics into this Fictional Story... :) The names of all the characters have been derived from the names of Gods that people pray to Everyday...The basic plot of story, Shiva being an ordinary man who has been visioned as the ultimate savior adding some spice here and there with some believiable twists making it a compelling read... Waiting to Read the 2nd book "The Secret of the Nagas" Hopefully the 3rd book will be released soon... :)

Synopsis of "The Immortals Of Meluha" - The Immortals of Meluha is set in 1900 BC. This is the story of a man whom legends hailed as God. What modern Indians know as the Indus Valley Civilization was previously known by its residents as the region of Meluha. This was the near perfect civilization built by Lord Ram, who was considered to be one of the greatest monarchs ever lived; until doom befell the kingdom and the Chandravanshis allied up with the gruesome Nagas to attack Meluha mercilessly. All this, until 'the savior', Shiva, comes to the civilization.

Is he really the savior? Can the residents of Meluha avert this tragedy? This is a story of the times when Shiva was a man, who would be later deemed as God. The second book in this series is The Secret of the Nagas, which is set 4000 years after that of The Immortals of Meluha.

The gruesome Naga warrior has assassinated his friend Brahaspati and now haunts his wife Sati. Shiva is the destroyer of evil and he won't rest till he figures out his adversary. This book takes you on an epic journey throughout the entire country as Shiva endlessly tries to trace down the culprit; only to later find out that he has been betrayed by his own advisors.

With the forces of dark manipulating his every move, will Shiva be able to rescue Meluha again? Will he be able to unmask the shrewd puppeteer? This book is filled with unbelievable revelations and mysteries.

Book Review of "The Amazonia"

An F*ing Awesome Read this book was.... A Pure Spectacle... If this is to be made into a film, i see no one else but James Cameron directing this Epic.. Not Spielberg nor roland emmerich(his movies of late have been nothing but tonnes of crap)... Author James Rollins brings us a fantastic adventure called Amazonia. The author sets a pace of almost non-stop action from the beginning and the suspense almost never lets up. When it does, Rollins teaches us about various plants and how they are used to treat disease. This makes for some interesting reading that doesn’t detract from the suspenseful parts in the least.

Brief Synopsis-Four years ago, all contact with a U.S. medical expedition in the wilderness of the Amazon basin was lost; a 30-man team declared lost and likely dead. Now one of its members, Gerald Clark, ex-Special Forces, staggers into a mission but dies within hours. He carries identification and is also a CIA operative. Two years earlier, his left arm was amputated at the shoulder whilst in Iraq. Photographs of the corpse and finger prints reveal that the arm has grown back perfectly. Unable to comprehend this inexplicable event, the United States CIA organises a special team to return to this impenetrable secret world of undreamed-of perils and to follow the trail of the dead man. On arrival, they enlist Nathan Rand, the son of the leader of lost researchers. A mysterious plague, that threatens the Earth's entire population, leads back to Gerald Clark. This means that the route to the expedition's destination must be discovered at any cost. The nightmare that awaits Rand and the team of scientists and seasoned U.S. Army Rangers dwarfs any danger they may have anticipated.

The Effort Behind The Making of India's Biggest Film "Endhiran"

Rajinikanth’s metamorphosis into Robot-

With the enormous success of the South Indian blockbuster, Robot (Endhiran) has already made a benchmark in the evolution process of filmmaking in India. The Rajinikanth – Aishwarya starrer directed by S.Shankar, got rave reviews for its uniqueness in action and visual effects. With a budget of over a hundred and fifty crores, 25 % of the funds were allotted in executing the commendable work done in VFX that helped in the narration of the film.
The film revolves around Dr. Vaseegaran played by Rajinikanth who invents a High-end robot named Chitti, a mirror of his own image. The scientific body, AIRD, declines the approval of the robot stating that it does not have emotions and the ability to make rational judgment. An unexpected flash of lightning induces emotions in the robot, and Chitti is geared up for its integration into the human world. Chitti then falls in love with Dr. Vaseegaran’ fiancée Sana played by Aishwarya Rai and goes against his creator.
The film has already spread its wings across the globe with raking in massive box-office collections. V. Srinivas Mohan, the VFX supervisor of this film and CEO of the VFX studio – Indian Artists, utilized the innovative skin grafting technology that got laudable appreciation from critics for Sivaji. Shankar got him on board for his latest endeavor Endhiran. He has also worked with the director in Aparichit and Boys hence it was certain that the director would need the VFX extraordinaire in executing the science-fiction film. Along with him Frankie Chung of Kinomotive studios and Eddy Wong of Menfond Electronics & Arts, both from Hong Kong, also worked as additional VFX supervisors for their respective sequences.
Robot boasts of a mammoth 2000 visual effects shots in 40 scenes. The bulk of the VFX work was undertaken in Srinivas’ Indian Artists Computer Graphics Pvt. Ltd., Kinomotive Studios, Menfond Electronics & Arts, Pixion, Vensat, Firefly Creative Studios Hyderabad, EFX Prasad Studios, Oyster and Ocher studios also assisted in executing some of the VFX and post production work for the film.
Apart from the studios that were on board in this project, talented freelancers from London, Iran, Germany, France and Hong Kong were required for their expertise.
In this exclusive two part case study,we get to the bottom of the making and visual effects process that made this monumental film and Rajinikanth shine like steel.
Initiating pre-production
Shankar the director called up Srinivas in the winter of 2007 and narrated the entire story to him for over four hours. Amazed and excited about the project since nothing of this nature was undertaken by any filmmaker in India before. The conceptualization and ideation was done entirely by the director. Following the preparations of the script, Srinivas explained to the director that pre-production and planning was needed to execute his ideas before production of the film began.

The Test
When Srinivas, the VFX supervisor, understood the script, a test was carried out to get a glimpse of the scene with visual effects. The director and Srinivas chose the train sequence for the test. With the shot divisions regarding the different camera angles in place during pre-production, an animator Sanath P.C. from Hyderabad was roped in to enhance the pre-visualization process.
Maya, an academy award winning software was used to create a digital set based on the script. Layouts of the train and characters were made using the software, although the team didn’t finalize any locations during the test, they used actual physical proportions of a real train. Once the director approved of the layouts, basic actions of the scene were carried out.
Srinivas along with the director and the director of photography blocked the camera angles for the scene using the software. Each shot had 2 to 3 versions of camera angles made to get a better view of the sequence. With the digital shots in place, temporary clips better known as ‘playblasts’ were extracted from the software to view the shots they made in real time. With these clips in hand, Anthony – the editor, was required to line up these clips according to the scene. This gave the team some room in improvising the shots that were made. Utilizing this method, the team planned out 40 crucial visual effects scenes of the film.
After the test
Shankar did the shot division of the script which he handed over to the supervisor for pre-visualization. With the pre-visualization sorted out, Srinivas who headed the visual effects team did the entire VFX breakdown of the film. With this the team had more clarity in terms of execution and knowledge of the different layers that consisted of live action, CGI and animatronics. Based on the breakdown, Srinivas started hunting for appropriate artists and talent they needed for the film.
Director of Photography
The D.O.P, R.Rathnavelu was instrumental in the pre-production stage; he helped Srinivas and the director in blocking the different camera angles that were required. This clarified what was needed in all the different layers involved in the shots. With his tremendous knowledge in visual effects, Rathnavelu pointed out the constraints in executing the shots in terms of lighting and other technicalities.
The opening shot of the film
The opening shot of the film where-in the robot gets assembled and the credits of the film are rolling weren’t decided in the script initially. Instead of the animation sequence seen in the film, the makers had initially thought of using live action for the introduction sequence. This didn’t go well for an opening shot. With this in mind, Srinivas consulted the director and suggested using an animation of the robot getting assembled in the scene.
He points out that this was a last minute decision which worked in their favor. Pre-visualization and implementation of the animation was done in a week. Pixion in Chennai did the opening credits and animation for the opening scene.
Animatronics
Animatronics is mostly used in filmmaking and other avenues of entertainment. It is basically electronic puppetry that simulates real life in front of a camera. This technology is used in a large number of films in the west. Srinivas insisted in using this unique innovation for Robot based on the visual effects break down that was made for the film.
He approached Legacy Effects formerly known as Stan Winston Studios in LA, to assist in the making of the film. The American studio worked in movies like Terminator: Salvation, Avatar, Alice In Wonderland etc. Srinivas points out that they utilized electronic puppetry in place of the actor for its realism. The scene where Rajinikanth places the eye on the robot was all executed by Legacy Effects. They also assisted in special make up that was required for Rajinikanth.
Amalgamating Rajinikanth and the robot Chitti
Srinivas points out that although Rajinikanth was acting, the audiences perceived that he was a robot indeed. The fictional script was designed by the director with this notion in mind. In Hollywood, filmmakers shoot one scene where they insert a part of a droid and the rest of the film is based on the plot. But in India it’s a different situation all together, so in order to sell the idea to the audiences, the director decided to portray the story parts with all the details in tow.
In the first fifteen minutes of the film, the audiences learn that the robot is made up of many components inside. For Srinivas, the vfx supervisor, one of the biggest challenges was the transition scene where Dr. Vaseegaran played by Rajinikanth puts on the silicon mask on the robot while the machine was singing. This shot is immensely crucial for the film to succeed. If the transition process didn’t go well, then the entire credibility of the film would go off. This 19 second shot took an astounding three months to create.

Retaining Rajinikanth’ youth
To preserve Rajinikanth’s youth in the film, a combination of both make up and visual effects played an important part, touch ups were done where it deemed necessary for the team. But Srinivas emphasizes the fact that Rajinikanth’s charisma played a big part in bringing his character of Chitti to life.

Yes, Rajinikanth is magnetic indeed
The team placed 3D trackers on Rajinikanth’s body for executing the magnetic sequence. This is used to match the movements of CGI elements with live action. For the close-up shots, Srinivas avoided using CGI elements since the production unit got the biggest asset from Stanwinston studios with animatronics. So in the close up, all the metal objects and ornaments that were seen on Rajinikanth’ body was in fact shot live using the puppet.
Although the animatronic puppet was blended with CGI shots that were made, the vfx team utilized maximum amount of lights in the close-up shots to match up with the CGI wide shots of the Rajinikanth. Different layers were shot with the elements, in the live action layer, the team physically placed the metal objects around in the scene to match the CGI shot when Rajni’s character deactivates the magnet and the objects fall to the ground. For Srinivas the execution was simple because the concept was new.

Rajinikanth battles thugs in the train
For the train sequence, Srinivas and Shankar took up this particular scene in the test to get a better perspective of the look and feel of the shots. With the pre-production in place and meticulous planning of the visual effects break down, the team had creative freedom in executing this scene.
Although midway, due to global recession and some constraints the team couldn’t continue with the production company they were working with, the project changed hands when Kalanidhi Maran of Sun pictures took over the venture. Srinivas approached some notable companies from Hollywood such as ILM, Café FX and a few others who were excited and happy with the fresh content they we were churning out, but due to the fixed budget, the visual effects in the scene were done mainly in India and Hong Kong. Apart from Stanwinston’ animatronics, none of the American companies were used to execute the visual effects and CGI work for the film.
Peter Hein, the action coordinator, assisted the team in this scene. Rajinikanth was literally on the track in the shot where he gets back on the train. The actor was strapped to a harness for support and legs were replaced with wheels and his hands were replaced since a rig was used in its execution.
The logistics and filming equipment was put in an open bogey while shooting this sequence. The legs, hands and the bag were replaced with CGI components in post-production which worked out seamlessly. A stuntman was used in the wide shots on top of the train where the actor is running. The stuntman’s head was replaced with Rajinikanth’s head in post, but most of the work was done by Rajinikanth himself.

The climax
The climax sequence was the most challenging shot for the vfx team as Srinivas points out that there are no real characters in the scene. “Using CGI has its own draw backs,” says Srinivas. The main challenge was in balancing the fine line between imagination and realism. The scene was for the audiences to accept.
To get a detailed 3D model of Rajinikanth’s character Chitti, Srinivas used an innovative new technology called the Doom Light Stage invented by scientist Paul Debevec at the University of California at Berkeley. This invention captures the actor’s face from every possible lighting direction. From the captured data, specialized algorithms create realistic virtual renditions of the actor in the illumination of any location or set, reproducing colour, texture, shine, shading and translucency of the actor’s skin. The innovation has been used in Spiderman, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Avatar and the fourth being Robot.
The equipment consists of a dome with around 80 to 90 lights around it. Rajinikanth was made to sit in this dome while his face got scanned from all possible light angles. Since the robot Chitti had a silicon mask of Rajinikanth on its face an extra coating was required to be added on Rajinikanth’ face. For the Lightstage team, this was a new experience since fine tuning while scanning was complicated. Different scans with and without make up were taken. The final output churned out a high detailed rendition of his face; one wouldn’t be able to tell if it was CGI. This sequence in its own took an unbelievable two years to accomplish.

Drill made of a hundred Rajinikanth Robots
There were many versions made in the pre-visualization stage of the scene where in the army of robots forms a drill that goes underground to emerge as one massive robot. Frankie Chung, a VFX supervisor from Hong Kong, who has Kung Fu Hustle and Kill Bill to his credit, helped the team execute this climatic sequence. The dust particles added in the shot where the drill starts rotating blended very well with the CGI and live action layers.

The most challenging scene
Besides the climax sequence which proved to be the most challenging sequence, Srinivas the vfx supervisor of the film emphasizes on executing the dual role scene played by Rajinikanth’ characters Dr. Vaseegaran and the robot Chitti. Instead of using a motion control rig which is usually used to film dual role sequences that have movement, Srinivas used a regular trolley track, super 35mm film and rhythmic beep sounds. During post production both layer movements were matched using tracking software. Because of elaborate setup process of motion control rig, it would’ve taken an astounding five years to shoot the entire film. The motion control rig was used for a mere 10 days to film the complicated multiple character shots.