Anil Sharma, the director of “Gadar 2,” recently highlighted certain practices within the film industry that, in his opinion, have influenced how audiences perceive movies. He noted that people have approached him with complaints regarding the visual effects in “Gadar,” not realizing that the film was primarily shot without the use of visual effects.

During an interview with Instant Bollywood, Sharma expressed his observation that modern audiences have become so accustomed to CGI that they often fail to discern in-camera footage. He explained that due to the constraints of his budget, he couldn’t allocate substantial resources to visual effects. This limitation led him to choose a more traditional approach, revisiting techniques reminiscent of his work on the 2001 film “Gadar: Ek Prem Katha.”

He stated, “We simply didn’t have access to a budget of 50 or 60 crores for VFX, which has become the norm in today’s film industry; in some cases, VFX budgets even soar to a staggering 100 crores. Our choice was to capture everything authentically; we orchestrated real explosions, deployed actual tanks, and gathered genuine crowds… It’s a painstaking process that demands extra dedication. This is the traditional approach to filmmaking, the same method we employed in crafting the original ‘Gadar.'”

He went on to say, “Following the release of the trailer, we received complaints about the VFX, and I couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Have they lost their senses?’ Little did they realize that our film boasts no VFX. However, their perspective has been shaped by the prevalence of visual effects. They’ve grown unaccustomed to witnessing practical effects. It’s not their fault; over the last 15 years, the industry has shifted towards extensive use of VFX. Nowadays, actors rarely venture outside of studios, and outdoor scenes are often filmed using face-replacement techniques. In our case, we braved the scorching heat and put in the hard work, and we’re now reaping the rewards of our labor.”