Content creator Dhruv Parikshit claimed Ramayana makers intentionally released an incomplete, lower-quality glimpse of Ranbir Kapoor to generate free marketing.
Parikshit attended a creators' day event on the Mumbai sets of Nitesh Tiwari's film, meeting producer Namit Malhotra and actors Yash and Ranbir Kapoor.
A VFX artist on set allegedly told Parikshit that there were better versions of the Lord Rama footage, but the nerfed version was chosen to spark online debate.
Earlier this year, in April, the makers of Ramayana released the first teaser of the film called the Rama glimpse. It showed Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama. Though the project is reportedly made on a budget of Rs 4000 crore, it was criticised for the VFX and CGI. Many expressed disappointment over the “cartoonish VFX”. Namit Malhotra, the producer of the film, later issued a statement defending the teaser of Ramayana.
A content creator made an explosive claim on Ramayana's VFX marketing, saying that the makers deliberately nerfed the glimpse.
Did Ramayana deliberately use bad VFX for publicity?
Content creator Dhruv Parikshit claimed the makers of Ramayana intentionally released a lower-quality glimpse of actor Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama. The makers allegedly deployed the strategy to spark online debate and secure free marketing.
Dhruv said this on Instagram on Wednesday after attending a creators' day event on the film's sets earlier this week. Attendees at the event met director Nitesh Tiwari and producer Namit Malhotra. They also interacted with actors Yash and Ranbir Kapoor.
What the content creator claimed
Dhruv initially praised the visual effects and shared details of an alleged conversation with a crew member. Replying to an Instagram comment about the footage, he wrote, "Yes, it was incomplete. But the vision they have, I genuinely can't put it into words. The scenes I witnessed there were on the level of Avatar. I'm not exaggerating, they're truly cooking something wonderful. The character designs and the world of Ramayana feel incredibly immersive."
Revealing his interaction with one of their VFX artists, he said that the technician told him that the creators deliberately uploaded a nerfed version of the Rama glimpse. "They had better versions of those scenes, yet they intentionally chose to release the incomplete one. Why? Because discussions and criticism across the internet translate into free marketing," he said.
However, Dhruv deleted his original comment and replaced it with another comment that read: "VFX pe kaam chal raha hai, and kaafi accha kaam ho bhi Gaya hai. Humko kuch incomplete footages bhi dikhaye the and i believe vo already complete ho chuke hain mahino pahle hi (Work on the VFX is ongoing and it is good. We were shown some incomplete footage but I believe it is all complete). And bhai, character designs!! They're gorgeous! They're absolutely wonderful. It is more like a very beautiful fantasy world, but in an Indian setting. It is going to be a great theatrical experience (sic)."
The screenshots of his original "nerfed" marketing strategy claim are still online.
