Abhishek Bachchan Defends Raja Shivaji VFX, Says Indian Films Work on Barely One Per Cent of Hollywood’s Budget
Mumbai: The visual effects in Raja Shivaji have dominated social media conversations since the film’s release on May 1, and now one of its lead actors has stepped into the debate.
Abhishek Bachchan, who plays Sambhaji Shahaji Bhosale the elder brother of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj — has come out firmly in defence of the film and its makers, arguing that the criticism needs to be seen in the context of what Indian cinema can realistically afford.
Speaking to News18, Bachchan did not mince words. “Maybe the common man doesn’t know but VFX is a very fine art but it’s a rain card. The more time you give it, the better it’s going to look. The more money you can pile into your VFX, the better the quality. People have to understand that at the end of the day, Riteish and Genelia have made a Marathi film within a very tight budget,” he said.
He pointed out that the scale of comparison audiences make is simply unfair. In Hollywood, studios probably spend over ₹5,000 crore on VFX alone, apart from the overall budget of a film — and Indian films simply cannot compete at that scale because, as Bachchan put it, “that’s not our market.” He added that Indian productions likely work at barely one per cent of Hollywood’s VFX budgets, and that quality is directly tied to how much money and time can be invested.
Time, he stressed, is as much a constraint as money. “Those ten years will also cost a lot of money. But can a film afford it? You don’t want to burden a film in that way,” he said, acknowledging that Riteish Deshmukh, as both director and producer, had to make hard calls about how far he could stretch resources. Ultimately, Bachchan said he applauds Riteish’s vision and that Raja Shivaji was always about telling an emotional story.
About the Film
Raja Shivaji is a historical action drama co-written and directed by Riteish Deshmukh, based on the life of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire. Produced by Genelia Deshmukh and Jio Studios, the film was made simultaneously in Marathi and Hindi on a budget of ₹75–100 crore making it the most expensive Marathi film ever produced. The cast includes Sanjay Dutt, Fardeen Khan, Bhagyashree, Sachin Khedekar, Mahesh Manjrekar, Genelia Deshmukh and Salman Khan in a cameo role.
Reports have also suggested that several actors associated with the project did not charge fees for their appearances, reflecting the personal significance the subject holds for those involved.
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Despite the VFX debate, the film has continued to hold well at the box office and has drawn appreciation for its performances, music and emotional depth. The conversation around its CGI, however, has reopened a larger question that Indian cinema keeps bumping into how do you tell an epic story on a non-epic budget, and who gets to set the benchmark?