That jaw-dropping moment in ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ of Tom Cruise trapped in a steel pod, watching nuclear missiles arc across the sky and cities vanish in fiery blasts was pieced together in a modest apartment in Bengaluru’s Whitefield.

“I was in my shorts, sipping chai, compositing the missile launches, the explosions and the whole sequence that was CGI,” says Mayank Tiwari, a mining-engineer-turned-VFX-compositor from Ranchi, laughing at the absurdity of working on the shot from his swivel chair.

Over the years, he’s cut out shoot plates for Hollywood films like ‘Cats & Dogs’, ‘Green Hornet’, ‘Gulliver’s Travels’, and ‘Clash of the Titans’, cleaned up skylines for ‘Tron: Legacy’, simulated a tsunami in ‘Hereafter’, and built royal banquets for ‘The Gilded Age’.

That, in a sense, is the story of India’s quiet, unseen rise as Hollywood’s visual-effects backroom, all bringing cinema’s grand illusions to life.

Today, Gaurav Choudhury in Patna who leads a 100-member team at Rotomaker, a self-described ‘offshore VFX partner’ for global studios, shows just how far this largely invisible workforce has spread. With branches in Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Vijayawada, the studio brings high-end work closer to the small towns its artists come from.

“A lot of us are from Bihar, UP, and Bengal,” says Choudhury, who works on wire removal, cleanup, and frame restoration. “It lets me stay close to home and still earn almost twice what I would on an Indian project. We don’t always know which client we’re working for, but there’s a steady flow of international commercials and web series.”

Ganesh Papanna, vice-president of ABAI, a Karnataka-based non-profit for India’s animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) industry, says Indian studios manage the nuts and bolts of high-volume, lower-cost work — while the creative design stays with Hollywood. The VFX supply chain runs like a global relay where a single shot can pass through half a dozen hands across three time zones.

Hollywood studios such as Disney or Paramount hire top vendors in the US or UK like ILM, MPC, Framestore who then send large portions of work to Indian production houses like Prime Focus, DNEG, or Prasad EFX. These major studios break down sequences into smaller tasks and pass them to mid-sized boutique studios that specialize in one or two skills. Those boutiques, in turn, rope in freelancers finishing individual shots from home.

That future, however, holds new uncertainties. There’s the spectre of Donald Trump’s proposed 100% tariff on foreign-made films. “I think the 100% tariff is on films entering America,” clarifies Papanna. But he’s confident that the industry can survive this.

“For work done outside the US, the surcharge is 25%. Even then, it’s cheaper to do it here.” The likely fallout, he says, will be leaner vendor rates. “A producer might say, ‘I can’t spend Rs 100, do it for Rs 70’ but somebody will take it.”

The math makes it obvious why India is the execution hub. “An average roto artist in India might earn around Rs 20,000-Rs 40,000 a month — roughly $3,000-$6,000 a year — for work that would cost $40,000-60,000 annually in the US.”

It’s this enormous cost gap, says Papanna, that keeps the world’s most spectacular explosions, creatures, and galaxies routed through Indian hands.

“If Hollywood is the interior designer, think of Indian VFX firms as painters and carpenters,” says Parthasarathy Iyer, who runs Andheri-based studio Katalyst Creates.

“I have about 25 artists when work comes in,” says Iyer. “They can be anywhere in Patna, Goa, or Mumbai. All they need is decent internet.”

Abhishek Prasad, director and chief technology officer of Prasad Studios including Prasad EFX, has been part of the invisible engine behind Hollywood spectacles like ‘Ben-Hur’, ‘Hercules’, ‘Hugo’ and ‘Maleficent’.

“We do a lot of detail-heavy work that may not carry our name in the end credits (due to non-disclosure agreements) but is essential for every frame to hold together,” he says. Studios, he adds, “know we understand workflows, quality check, and the discipline required.”

Scalability is key too. “We can ramp up hardware, software, and people in a month. That kind of agility isn’t easy elsewhere.”

Hollywood’s biggest VFX vendors set up shop in India in the mid-2010s. Technicolor — the French company behind the visual effects of countless Hollywood blockbusters — led the charge. Within months, they had snapped up nearly every skilled artist in the country.

“It was a gold rush,” recalls Tiwari, who rode that wave. “At first, they gave India the easy shots, but once we kept delivering smarter fixes, the trust grew. And if you were earning Rs 60,000 a month for Indian projects, you could suddenly make Rs 3-4 lakh doing the same job for a Hollywood project.”

For American studios, even that was roughly half of what they’d have paid a mid-level artist in the US. Then the bubble burst. In Feb 2025, Technicolor’s global operations went bankrupt, a casualty of the prolonged 2023 Hollywood strikes. “Overnight, over 3,000 artists in India lost jobs,” says Tiwari. But that’s also when the remote-freelance economy exploded.

Studios set up small India outposts or paid through partners. “Old colleagues from Los Angeles would message asking if I was free, had a software licence and we’d put together a team overnight. And it paid far better. What I made in a month as salary, I could now make in ten days,” says Tiwari. Day rates run anywhere from Rs 3,000 to Rs 30,000, depending on skill.

India’s main VFX hubs remain Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai, but mid-sized studios and freelancers can be based anywhere. “Freelancing has become very, very big,” says Papanna. "People work in a company by day and freelance at night. I’d say 35% of artists are freelance now.”

So, if tariffs aren’t the real threat, what is? “AI hasn’t fully entered VFX yet, but when it does, jobs will go,” says Iyer, who’s already adapting. “I don’t do heavy VFX now but focus on motion graphics and title montages, which I can now do myself on AI tools like Midjourney instead of hiring an artist.”

Tiwari says AI is already replacing some basic, labour-intensive tasks and cutting timelines. “But you still need a compositor’s eye so it’s not replacing my creative skills but helping me work faster.”

Prasad calls this the next upskilling wave. “Those who learn will survive,” he says. His bigger concern is elsewhere. “If international work slows, training and R&D investment could take a hit. You can lose a generation of skilled artists if opportunity dries up.”

Another reason for optimism is that Indian content is growing fast, says Prasad. “Budgets are better and the quality bar has gone up.” Iyer agrees that domestic boom — especially OTT series and CGI-heavy regional films — will keep smaller studios afloat even if Hollywood contracts shrink. “Ten years ago, there were hardly any Gujarati, Marathi, or Odia films. Now there’s one every week.”

Papanna too is upbeat. “After all, VFX in India isn’t just about Hollywood anymore,” he says. “Films like 'RRR’, ‘Brahmastra’, ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ show what’s possible here.”

WILL KARATE KID: LEGENDS SCORE AT THE BOX OFFICE?

The month of May has been great for both Hollywood and Bollywood. Raid 2 collected more than Rs. 150 crores. Bhool Chuk Maaf is expected to collect around Rs. 40 crores at the box office in its first week. As for Hollywood, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning still has chances of entering the Rs. 100 crore club as it performed well in its second week. Final Destination Bloodlines, meanwhile, is now all set to hit the Rs. 60 crore mark. Next Friday will see the release of Housefull 5 and hence, no major Hindi film is scheduled to arrive in cinemas. However, a Hollywood film, Karate Kid: Legends, will try its luck.

It belongs to the famous The Karate Kid franchise and stars Jackie Chan in a crucial role. Such martial arts films have worked in the past and moreover, the Hindi version has voiceovers by Ajay Devgn and his son Yug. This is Yug’s first-ever work in cinema. He attended a promotional event of Karate Kid: Legends with papa Ajay and it caught eyeballs.

Karate Kid: Legends will have a wide release in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. However, the advance booking has been very poor. Hopefully, the tickets will be sold in current and it’ll manage to collect in the Rs. 1 crore range.

Meanwhile, several Hindi films will be up for release tomorrow like Bombay, Chidiya, Dilli Dark, His Story Of Itihaas and Love Karu Yaaa Shaadi. In a rare instance, as many as five Marathi films would also be out like Mhanje Waghache Panje, Ashtapadi, Dharmarakshak Ahilyadevi Holkar Ek Yug, Mawaali and Paivatechi Savali. Sadly, all 10 of them will face a struggle to get screens and audiences.

FINAL DESTINATION BLOODLINES IS A SURPRISE HIT; MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING UNDERPERFORMS; ALL EYES ON THE CONTROVERSIAL BHOOL CHUK MAAF

The supernatural film Final Destination Bloodlines has emerged as a surprise success. The industry expectation was that it would open at Rs. 3 crores max. But it opened at Rs. 4.25 crores. On Saturday, it was going to face competition from a Hollywood film. Everyone was sure that it would drop. Instead, Final Destination Bloodlines had a decent jump. The target for the film was to cross the earnings of Evil Dead Rise; it earned Rs. 30 crores. Final Destination Bloodlines was able to reach this figure by Wednesday itself. If it holds well in the next two weeks, it has the potential to cross the Rs. 50 crore mark.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, meanwhile, has underperformed. It opened well at Rs. 16.50 crores on Saturday. Ideally, it should have jumped to Rs. 20 crores on Sunday. Instead, it settled at Rs. 17.75 crores. The film fell on Monday to Rs. 5.75 crores. It collected Rs. 5.50 crores and Rs. 4.50 crores on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. The first week will end at around Rs. 54 crores. With such trending, crossing the Rs. 100 crore mark will be impossible.

Meanwhile, all eyes are now on Bhool Chuk Maaf. The film was all set to release on May 9. But on May 8, its producers, Maddock Films, called off the theatrical release and announced that the film will release directly on Amazon Prime Video on May 16. PVR Inox didn’t take this U-turn kindly and they knocked on the doors of Bombay High Court. The court stopped Maddock from premiering Bhool Chuk Maaf on Amazon. A few days later, both the parties had an out-of-court settlement. As per the settlement, Bhool Chuk Maaf will be released in cinemas on May 23 and it’ll then premiere on OTT two weeks later, on June 6.

With such an arrangement, it was assumed that viewers might not turn up to see the film in large numbers. However, the advance booking has been decent. It can still open in the range of Rs. 2.50-3 crores.

There are two more films this week - the historical Kesari Veer and the horror comedy Kapkapiii. Sadly, both these movies have negligible buzz and will go unnoticed.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is packed with high-stake and tense moments as the protagonist is out to save the world while facing numerous challenges on the way. The action scenes also keep viewers on the edge of their seats. At the same time, there are fan-service moments and a tribute to the entire series; it'll surely be lapped up. On the flipside, the first half has limited action. In fact, the previous part, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning – Part One, was slightly better than this one, as it had non-stop fights and running around. A few developments are convenient and done for the heck of it. The idea of Entity still remains confusing. Moreover, it comes at a time when we have already seen the protagonist do many dangerous action scenes. Hence, the death-defying stunts don't provide the expected high. Thankfully, the film picks up big time in the second half and the ending is clapworthy. Also, Tom Cruise steals the show yet again with his action and also his brilliant performance in the action scenes. Ving Rhames (Luther) and Simon Pegg (Benji), as always, are adorable. Hayley Atwell (Grace) makes her presence felt. Pom Klementieff (Paris) is badass while Angela Bassett (US President) leaves a huge mark. Esai Morales (Gabriel) is okay as the villain. Rolf Saxon (William Donloe) and Lucy Tulugarjuk (Tapeesa, Donloe's wife) are surprise additions. All in all, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, despite minor hiccups, provides a fitting finale to one of the most loved series and makes for a paisa-vasool experience.

My rating - *** ½ out of 5!

WILL MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING CROSS THE RS. 20 CRORE MARK ON DAY 1; FINAL DESTINATION BLOODLINES HAVE 30 CRORE LIFETIME?

After a dull week, the normalcy returned at the box office as the ceasefire was announced by India and Pakistan. As a result, the collections improved in the North, especially the border areas. Meanwhile, all the fear over audiences not going to cinemas will vanish this weekend with the release of two exciting Hollywood releases.

Final Destination Bloodlines had midnight paid previews on Wednesday, May 14 and had a full-fledged release today, that is, Thursday, May 15. The film was originally scheduled to be released on May 16 but was preponed by a day so that the film can get an extra day to earn and thereby spread the word by the time Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning releases on May 17. It is a part of the famous Final Destination franchise and this is the sixth part. Though the last part was released 14 years ago in 2011, the youngsters are aware of the series and there’s an excitement to see it.

The Thursday release strategy seems to have worked. Final Destination Bloodlines will open at around Rs. 2.50-3 crores. It’ll collect in the same range on Friday. The earnings will be affected with the big release on Saturday. However, a Rs. 13-15 crore weekend is possible. Two years ago, Warner Bros had released Evil Dead Rise. It was a surprise success, collecting around Rs. 30 crores. Final Destination Bloodlines has the potential to beat this number.

On the other hand, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning has received a fantastic response from advance ticket sales. The series has become more and more famous and Tom Cruise has a lot of appeal among the youth, despite his age. There’s an excitement to see the 60+ actor doing death-defying stunts and it's no wonder that shows are fast-filling. The earlier part, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning – Part One, had an opening of Rs. 11.90 crores. But it was released on a working Wednesday. In a unique move, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning arrives in cinemas on Saturday. Hence, the occupancy will be high from morning, unlike for Friday releases, when shows before 4 pm don’t always register a high turnout.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is all set for an opening of Rs. 15-17 crores and if all goes well, it can even cross the Rs. 20 crore mark. Hence, a Rs. 40 crore weekend is a possibility. The previous part crossed the Rs. 100 crore mark and earned around Rs. 106 crores. It now remains to be seen if Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning can cross this milestone.

The only worry is that the reviews are mixed. But what can save the film is the casting of Tom Cruise, mass-appealing scenes and also the fact that it’s the final film of a series which is going on successfully for 19 long years.