What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
New sound technology, named 4D SRL
2.0 or Robot 2, starring Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar, will hit the theatres on Thursday, and the sequel to Enthiran is being released in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu simultaneously. At a promo event in Mumbai on Monday, the film's director Shanmugham Shankar said that, apart from the stars, "VFX is the third hero of the film." Really, VFX is the indispensable hero: the entire project was conceptualised, scripted, directed and produced with visual effects in mind.
Enter Walt Jones, VFX supervisor for TAU Films, who tells The National that 2.0 was the "most challenging" role visually that the firm has ever worked on. Jones's team also worked on BaahuBali but he says he doesn't want to compare the two experiences.
"We came on board early in the process [for 2.0]," the Los Angeles-based Jones tells us over the phone. "It was more than six months, I think before the shoot started. There was a lot of pre-vis [pre-visualisation]. A script is nothing but words. We try to put those words into how the director visualises it. When we sat with Shankar, it was an abstract concept and it was a challenge to get every shot right to match that vision.
“It would be wrong to compare, because each project is different, but yes, this was the most challenging, compared to other work that we have done in Hollywood.”
On working with Rajinikanth and Kumar
About the experience of working with two superstars of film in such an environment, Jones says: “Rajinikanth was a pleasure to work with, and I am not saying it as a cliché. He was very nice, a gentleman and it was fun. Also, he was used to some of it because of the first movie, even though we did a lot, lot more work compared to that one. For Akshay it was a new thing and he was always keen on the set.”
Jones is loathe to give away the plot but, as the movie's trailer and Shankar himself suggests, a half-bird-half-human mutant (played by Akshay Kumar) takes siege of a city by making cellphones disappear. The much-delayed production will see Rajinikanth reprise his two roles from the first film – the scientist Vaseegaran and eccentric robot Chitti. At the end of Enthiran, Vaseegaran was forced to retire Chitti after he went rogue. In 2.0, Vaseegaran reboots Chitti after Dr Richard (Kumar) wages a war on cellphones and technology.
As many as 25 VFX studios worked on the film to save time: the most important ones were Jones's TAU Films, Double Negative and The Third Floor, with experts associated with films such as Life of Pi, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Deadpool 2, Avengers: Infinity War, Pacific Rim, Black Panther, Thor, Blade Runner 2049, Venom and many more working on the movie.
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Jones and numerous VFX artists collaborated at different levels, and brought in individual expertise to make the film work at one-third of the budget, and yet this was still one of Bollywood's costliest films to make. Official figures suggest the film cost of 5.43 billion rupees (US$76 million), about $6 million more than Aamir Khan's Thugs of Hindostan, which ended up a dud at the box office after its Diwali release. Incidentally, Aamir Khan and Arnold Schwarzenegger were initially approached for the film, but they declined.
“As a VFX producer, no budget is enough because there are so many things you would like to do,” Jones said. “We work with the task at hand and how best to get the script across visually. Beyond that, what works or not, is something that is not under our control.”
Despite the challenges, Srinivas Mohan, Shankar's deputy and central VFX supervisor for more than 16 years, has insisted there has been no compromise. Usually films are made in 2D with 3D effects applied in the post-production. 2.0 used 3D to shoot every frame.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The five pillars of Islam
UAE's role in anti-extremism recognised
General John Allen, President of the Brookings Institution research group, commended the role the UAE has played in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism.
He told a Globsec debate of the UAE’s "hugely outsized" role in the fight against Isis.
"It’s trite these days to say that any country punches above its weight, but in every possible way the Emirates did, both militarily, and very importantly, the UAE was extraordinarily helpful on getting to the issue of violent extremism," he said.
He also noted the impact that Hedayah, among others in the UAE, has played in addressing violent extremism.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MEYDAN%20RACECARD
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E6pm%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EArabian%20Adventures%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(TB)%20Dh82%2C500%20(Dirt)%201%2C200m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E6.35pm%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEmirates%20Sky%20Cargo%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%2087%2C500%20(D)%202%2C000m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E7.10pm%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEmirates%20Holiday%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(TB)%20Dh82%2C500%20(D)%201%2C400m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E7.45pm%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEmirates%20Skywards%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh87%2C500%20(D)%201%2C400m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E8.20pm%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Emirates%20Airline%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh105%2C000%20(D)%201%2C600m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E8.55pm%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEmirates%20Airline%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh105%2C000%20(D)%201%2C900m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E9.30pm%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEmirates.com%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB_%20Dh87%2C500%20(D)%201%2C200m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Zayed Sustainability Prize
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Abdul Jabar Qahraman was meeting supporters in his campaign office in the southern Afghan province of Helmand when a bomb hidden under a sofa exploded on Wednesday.
The blast in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah killed the Afghan election candidate and at least another three people, Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak told reporters. Another three were wounded, while three suspects were detained, he said.
The Taliban – which controls much of Helmand and has vowed to disrupt the October 20 parliamentary elections – claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mr Qahraman was at least the 10th candidate killed so far during the campaign season, and the second from Lashkar Gah this month. Another candidate, Saleh Mohammad Asikzai, was among eight people killed in a suicide attack last week. Most of the slain candidates were murdered in targeted assassinations, including Avtar Singh Khalsa, the first Afghan Sikh to run for the lower house of the parliament.
The same week the Taliban warned candidates to withdraw from the elections. On Wednesday the group issued fresh warnings, calling on educational workers to stop schools from being used as polling centres.
What's in the deal?
Agreement aims to boost trade by £25.5bn a year in the long run, compared with a total of £42.6bn in 2024
India will slash levies on medical devices, machinery, cosmetics, soft drinks and lamb.
India will also cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.
Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments
India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
More on Quran memorisation:
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
The five pillars of Islam
More on Quran memorisation:
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
Five films to watch
Castle in the Sky (1986)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Only Yesterday (1991)
Pom Poki (1994)
The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Quick%20facts
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RACE CARD
6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group 1 (PA) Dh119,373 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (D) 1,200m
7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (Turf) 1,800m
8.15pm UAE 1000 Guineas Trial (TB) Dh183,650 (D) 1,400m
9.50pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,000m
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
New sound technology, named 4D SRL
