Visual effects studio FutureWorks delivered over 1200 VFX shots for Netflix series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The studio’s team of over 300 artists, tasked with creating a beautifully depicted 1940s Lahore for the series, delivered the shots within a tight schedule of less than six months.
Released in May 2024, the eight-episode series stars Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Richa Chadha, Sharmin Segal, Fardeen Khan, Shekhar Suman, Taha Shah Badussha and Farida Jalal. The story revolves around Mallikajaan, who rules over an elite house of courtesans, and her new rival, set in the backdrop of rebellion during the era of British-ruled India.
The VFX work involved set extensions, crowd multiplication, digital matte painting (DMP), asset and environment creations, and more. Director Bhansali provided the team with clear direction while granting it the freedom to explore its expertise in CGI and DMP. “Creating believable cityscape extensions was both a challenge and a creative opportunity, as we had to ensure we created perfectly detailed skies for the day and night sequences,” FutureWorks said in a release.
Led by on-set VFX supervisor Kanan T. and Sanket Shirke, the team captured LiDAR scans, as well as essential on-set elements like textures and background plates, and documented shoot information. This information was catalogued and ingested into the pipeline by the production team, led by line producer Vinayak Shigwan and was readily available to artists and supervisors.
The DMP team used Adobe Photoshop for all matte paintings across the eight episodes, with all CG assets created using Autodesk Maya – with the help of Houdini for the fire elements and environments. The team used Foundry Katana for the development and scene assembly before the composition; and used Foundry’s Nuke and Nuke Studio to help combine CG assets and add visual effects.
During the process, it became clear to the team that achieving a precise vision for colour and texture would be a challenge. So it conducted research, analysed historical photographs of old Indian cities, capturing its own reference photographs of skies and architectural elements, and sourcing additional reference materials.
There were concepts that looked visually stunning in wide angles but required adjustments when translated to closer compositions. Through ongoing communication with the director, the VFX team was able to refine the wider-angle concepts to ensure they translated effectively into closer shots. The challenge was also to match the DMP and set extensions to the frames captured by cinematographer Sudeep Chaterjee.
Using Baselight’s BLG in the studio’s pipeline, the team was able to closely match the director’s desired colour palette and textures across all VFX shots. “One of the most rewarding aspects of working with the director was his unwavering commitment to achieving a truly immersive visual experience. The final result is nothing short of a visual masterpiece,” FutureWorks stated.
Netflix local language originals VFX executive Sarosh Mistry said in his LinkedIn post: “It was a privilege to bring the visuals of Heeramandi S1 on screen to millions of viewers on Netflix. Big kudos to the team at FutureWorks Media Limited to execute over 1300+ VFX in a crunched timeline.”
Alongside VFX, FutureWorks also provided rental and sound services, such as camera rental, on-set data management (DIT), and sound re-recording.
