The dream merchants

It was providence that brought together five ambitious young men drawn from different parts of Telangana but who all nurtured a common ambition– making a name by treading unexplored creative paths in the ruthlessly creative field of graphics with an overbearing thrust on entertainment industry.

The pitfalls, notwithstanding, it has been an extraordinarily eventful journey for Kamal, Pavan, Santhosh, Arun and Rajanikanth, who have been growing in stature and winning accolades in the biggest blockbuster of them all-Hollywood. The entity they founded in Hyderabad ‘Oscar Fx Pvt Ltd’, Visual Production House, in 2014, is today the talk of tinsel town.

A major factor is that they were early birds to the graphics-inspired filmmaking genre. More importantly, they had the inclination to cash in on the situation that was prevalent.

Despite belonging to rustic backgrounds, they have opened the world for graphic technicians with their trailblazing achievements.

They have defied all odds while carving a niche for themselves to presently be among the happening technicians in international cinema.

Yes…they bring in global standards in their creative outputs. Kamal, son of late Srinivasulu, who hails from Hyderabad decided to stand on his own feet. He wanted to establish a world-class company. Destiny favoured him with the support of Huzurabad (Karimnagar) native Pavan Ravula, son of Ramanachary, a local carpenter. Pavan preferred to make a living of his own and one that was away from his traditional family lineage – carpentry.

Armed with nothing but an ambition to establish himself, he moved to Hyderabad in search of greener pastures. After getting trained in graphics, he worked in several companies and earned a name, which led him to receive accolades across the then undivided state of Andhra Pradesh. Local legislature and present finance minister of Telangana Eatala Rajender felicitated Pavan for his achievements in the year 2011. Now his role in the company is very vital.

He’s been always there behind every successful moment. Apart from involving in technical matters, he plays a key role in company’s growth. In course of time, he heard from Kamal about his new plans of a startup. Getting hooked on to the idea, Pavan, Santhosh, Arun and Rajanikanth, came on board for what was to take shape as ‘Oscar Fx Private Ltd’ in a run-down room at Sainikpuri, Hyderabad.

Although they are talented, they did not have any business experience. Kamal, son of late Srinivasulu hails from Hyderabad. Santhosh Reddy, son of Krishna Reddy is from Kalvakurthy in Mahabubnagar district. Rajanikanth Reddy, son of Rami Reddy is native of Nangunuru in Siddhipet district. Arun Thakur, son of Jawahar Singh is from Godavarikhani of Karimnagar district. Even as they aspired for a startup, the first-generation entrepreneurs were well aware of the challenges they had to reckon with, including financial.

However, their new life did not start off easy. What held the five-man army in good stead were grit, determination and diligence.

“You see, every entrepreneur has to struggle in the initial stages. No one trusts you unless you prove yourself. But you should get a chance to prove yourself,” reasons Pavan Ravula.

They tried to show their strength and talent to the producers but in vain. They have invested everything they had apart from borrowing from different sources.

Their breakthrough came from contacts built during their days of employment. The results were unexpected but enough to propel their prospects. They landed up with projects from Bollywood, from ‘Mary Kom’ and ‘Hamshkals’ to ‘Bang Bang’. Like it happens with artistes and technicians from Bollywood, the graduation had to be at Hollywood.

“Impressed with our work, big production houses started outsourcing some projects for us. We successfully finished 50 commercial films and almost 20 feature films for foreign clients,” Santhosh and Rajanikanth declare.

The work division among the five is a great example for their planning. Conscientious Kamal put all his efforts to coordinate with clients and attract international giants. As heads of each crucial department, Santhosh, Rajani and Pavan deal with technical aspects while Arun looks after the administration.

With persistent efforts, their company was first to accorded with ISO 27001 certification among its competitors. As result, world’s top 10 production companies like Disney, Warner Brothers, Universal Pictures, Paramount, Sony Entertainment are joining hands with Oscar Fx Private Ltd. What an achievement!

With movie-making having become more technically pronounced, getting used to technological advancements was the benchmark. The audience preferred visual treat to quality of content or the star cast, though they did have an impact. The dream merchants from Hollywood are forever experimenting. Stunning visual effects became the norm because of the zest of producers and directors to resort to visuals for a bigger impact on the audience.

When Telugu movies needed graphical work, producers used Hollywood technicians by shelling out exorbitant amounts to get a few minutes of CG work. However, things have changed for the better. High quality graphic studios have come up in Hyderabad, although not all can lay claim to any Hollywood imprints.

“Now this is an open market. Whoever has the talent and commitment will get opportunities,” the five, state in a matter-of-fact tone.

Interestingly, earlier graphic work from Hollywood was outsourced to China. As they failed to sustain quality output, Indian companies entered the picture to seize the initiative. ‘Oscar Fx Private Ltd’ is one such company.

The company already has big Hollywood titles in its kitty like ‘Monkey King-2’, ‘Expendables-3’, ‘London Has Fallen’, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, ‘The Crossing-2’, ‘The Battleship Island’, ‘Sin City’ among others. Plaudits for the creative execution have come in from industry observers and critics based at USA, Canada, China, Korea, UK and Australia.

“Some biggies came down to our office from Hollywood. Impressed with our set up and working style, they gave projects to us,” they share. It has been a good time for them as from being a single room office boasting of five promoter-workers, Oscar Fx Private Ltd today functions from an ultra-modern office that has 75 people on its rolls.

“We want to increase our strength to 150 by next year,” they point out. They select poor students from rural areas and offer training free of cost. They also recruit orphans and train them.

“As we do not have sufficient training facilities, we have collaborated with some training institutes to provide necessary training to our new recruits.”

Having established a firm-footing in Hyderabad they intend to open a branch in neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh. Given the enthusiasm of the driving force, it is fair enough to expect that Oscar Fx Private Ltd will conquer the Port City, as well, At least that is what the five crave for.

By: Dr G Balakrishna