00:00Sometimes an audience doesn't like reading subtitles, they miss the visuals.
00:04And because our film is a visual spectacle, we want them to really be arrested by the visuals.
00:08And what happens is when you're watching the movie, you know, and you're just reading,
00:11so you miss certain, you know, frames which give you that epic spectacle vibe.
00:18Thank you for bringing us such an epic tale on such a grand screen.
00:22It's almost like taking someone's favourite book and bringing it to screen.
00:25People are so protective over these figures that we've known our whole lives.
00:29So what's it like for you having to deal with that pressure of people who we have heard about our
00:36entire lives?
00:37I think it's a responsibility more than pressure.
00:39You know, we all have been born in Indian culture.
00:43You know, we all are God-loving, God-fearing people.
00:45We're very sensitive towards what we are representing.
00:49You know, and I think the intention of everybody on this film was to make the best Ramayana possible,
00:55the most authentic Ramayana possible.
00:56And I think everybody had devotion in their heart.
00:59They had, you know, good and pure intentions.
01:04There was a lot of hard work and passion.
01:06And everybody was very eager and passionate and inspired to tell the story.
01:10It's been a great experience.
01:11And I think we, or at least I did not know the amount of pressure we would have to face.
01:19Because during the first beginning stages where we were all picked to play the parts, I think it's about playing
01:24it right.
01:25It's about being in the moment, being true to the character and doing our best.
01:28You don't think about how you're going to be perceived.
01:30It's just during these promotions and having people's reactions to our, the content that's put out there that there's a
01:37little pressure.
01:38I bet, I bet.
01:39In life of whatever you try to do, people will have problems, but especially when there is something which is
01:48so dear or close to them.
01:50They tend to have that fear that how will they represent, but I believe in people.
01:57And if they get to know the intent of the makers and they understand that these guys are trying to
02:04do something for the story to reach beyond our borders,
02:08then I think they will see it with the lens where they also forgive for our small mistakes.
02:14But intentionally, if you have taken it for granted and if you act smart, yes, these kinds of things can
02:19be very risky.
02:21But we had two choices, whether to run away from it or take that responsibility and hope for the best
02:28and work with the right intent and expect hopefully the people also will understand it.
02:34And I think that is what we are trying to do.
02:36I saw the English version of it.
02:39That's what they showed it to me.
02:40And I know that the use of AI has been addressed already.
02:43I'm curious to know how you guys felt seeing yourself speaking English.
02:48Have you seen the English version?
02:49Yes, we have.
02:50What's it like for you?
02:51You know, it's just not AI.
02:53It's just not that when we shot this Hindi version and we put it in a computer and saying, make
02:56them speak English.
02:57You know, we had a lot of, we had at least close to like 10 to 12 days of work.
03:01It's a huge process.
03:02Where you know, you're wearing this large helmet kind of thing.
03:06With cameras.
03:06With cameras, which is kind of mimicking your lip movements and your throat movements.
03:11It captures your muscles which move and how you smile, how you say certain words, how your cheeks move and
03:18the rest of it, how your throat.
03:19So, so it literally captures.
03:20And after that, so what it, what it has enabled us that it has made us save time.
03:24So instead of like giving a Hindi take or a Kannada take or a Malayalam take, English take.
03:30What happens is you speak in the language that the film is being made.
03:33And then you have, you know, other, like a person who can speak Spanish, person who can speak French.
03:40They come in and they just put in the voice.
03:42But for the audiences to not kind of feel weird about them speaking this language.
03:47Now the lips are sinking with that language.
03:50I didn't feel weird.
03:51I was just curious what it's like for you because you've, you've spoken it in, you've done it in Hindi
03:55and then you're seeing yourself speaking a different language.
03:58I think we're trying to solve a problem here.
04:00Like it's almost like if you watch Planet of the Apes, humans are involved, they act and you cannot make
04:07ape speak some language.
04:09Right. And then if you say, I have a problem with that because technology I don't like.
04:14So people have this fear of AI.
04:16But what we are trying to use is very simple, like Planet of the Apes, a human acts, all his
04:22emotions are captured.
04:23And then when you see it, you are emotionally connecting.
04:26Lots of work has gone into it.
04:28Likewise here, how do you shoot movie in every language?
04:33You all like to understand in our native language.
04:35So the intent behind this is whole world is dubbing movies into 50 languages, 60 different things wherever possible because
04:43to communicate a story.
04:44This is the next step of it where when you're watching the dubbed lip, something is off.
04:49So human mind is very sharp and you get to disconnect.
04:53We have done this for so many years, but technology now we have really put in so much of effort
04:58and people are involved in it.
05:00I think I want to make it very clear when we say AI, it is not the AI which is
05:04taking away the jobs.
05:05This is actually creating more work because initially we would have just dubbed and then it would be over for
05:11lip sync.
05:11We have used human drivers.
05:13So that has created more job opportunities and more work has gone into this for giving audience a better experience.
05:20So for me, it's a tool.
05:21And when we use a tool to tell the story and communicate it better, all technology is good.
05:27So that is something which people have to understand.
05:29It's not something like you just put it in the system and a machine gives you that output.
05:33So each and every expression, each and every thing is designed according to the lip, according to the thing.
05:39And it's gone with the VFX artist also.
05:41So it's a lot of work and that is to give them a better experience.
05:44So people should not fear or see it like how it's an AI thing.
05:48It's an easier replacement.
05:49It's not a lot of work.
05:50Also, I think where cinema or entertainment is going, I think the audiences today want options of how they want
05:57to consume.
05:58It's not that we have different languages.
06:01Say if you're living in France, you can only see in French.
06:05If you want to see it in the original language, you have an option of seeing it.
06:08So you're giving the audiences the option of consuming the story in whatever way that they would like.
06:14And I think that's how today you have a film.
06:18You can watch it on OTT.
06:20You can watch it on the big screen.
06:21You can watch it on your phone.
06:22You know, we're not blaming OTT or the phone that they're taking away cinema goers.
06:28You're just enabling the audience that, you know, you have the option of consuming the story in whatever best way
06:34possible that you enjoy.
06:35Like I said though, I saw the English version, which means that they took out the songs and I'm really
06:39gutted to tell me what I have missed.
06:40Well, then you've got to see the Hindi version.
06:42I will go see it, but tell other people who might not see it.
06:45What have we missed?
06:45Were you missed a good 30 minutes?
06:47Yeah, 30 minutes.
06:4830, 40 minutes.
06:49And it's all not songs.
06:50It's not all songs.
06:51It's all the scenes.
06:51Some more detailing of Bharata portion.
06:55All of that is there.
06:55English version because there are so many characters.
06:58People may not relate to it or understand it at this point in time.
07:02So collective decision was taken for what is the right length and what is the right presentation for it.
07:08And maybe if they like it, they can dive deep into it.
07:12They want to dive deep into it.
07:13They can watch our Indian regional version.
07:15Even after that, if they want to know more about it, they can read this script itself.
07:20So that's a way to...
07:22Are there dance sequences though that I have missed or anything like that?
07:24No.
07:25No, I think we have tried to...
07:26That's like sometimes some of my favorite parts of Bollywood films.
07:28It's like that kind of stuff.
07:30So I just want to make sure that's not what I missed.
07:32I'll give you an example.
07:32When Yash had his film Toxic release a couple of months back, I remember I messaged him and said that
07:38which language should I watch it?
07:40And he said, why don't you watch it in Hindi?
07:41It'll be easier for you if you remember.
07:43So it all depends on you, you know, how you would like to consume it.
07:47Sometimes an audience doesn't like reading subtitles, they miss the visuals.
07:51And because our film is a visual spectacle, we want them to really be arrested by the visuals.
07:55And what happens is when you're watching the movie, you know, and you're just reading, so you miss certain, you
08:00know, frames, which give you that epic spectacle vibe.
08:05So I think that's because of all of these reasons, you know, we have this.
08:09Listen, I was fully immersed.
08:11I liked actually getting to see it and understand everything.
08:13It's a story I've grown up with, but I feel like I understand a bit more.
08:16What other languages do you speak?
08:18Creole, which I speak in Mauritius.
08:19Okay, we will ask our Brahmai to make a Creole version.
08:22A Creole, there you go, and then that'll be fine.
08:24No, English is great for me.
08:25Good luck with it.
08:26I look forward to part two as well.
08:27Thank you so much.
