The last place you’d expect to bump into an IITian is Bollywood. But that precisely is where Biju D, the visual effects director of more than a 100 films including Ghulam, Lage Raho Munnabhai, Bhootnath and the more recent 3 Idiots, has been making it big.
The early years
He comes across as an ordinary man before you join him on a walk down memory lane to his college days when he was the Kalaprathibha of the Kerala University (1987-88), life at the TKM college of engineering, Kollam, and later at the IIT, Mumbai.
“I’ve always wanted to be part of films,” says the Alappuzha-born who did his product design course in the IIT even as his heart lay in visual communication.
Biju “took and got advantage” of interacting with the bright minds at IIT. “That’s where I imbibed the concept of education beyond classrooms and understood the importance of inter-disciplinary exposure. I realised that it was indeed education that was happening in the discussions I had with my friends in the Pune Film Institute under the ‘wisdom tree’ on their campus.”
Bollywood comes calling
While he was undergoing the monotony of work in the computer graphics department of Plus Channel, Mumbai, film director Ketan Mehta invited Biju to be part of Maya Studio. “I ran it for a year and a half before moving on to CMM Studios. That was at a time when visual effects was gaining momentum in India.” Remember the scene in Ghulam where Aamir Khan jumps in front of a train? It is Biju and his team’s talent that makes the scene look so natural and earned Aamir many accolades for the ‘daring’ stunt.
Biju went on to do the visual effects of a number of commercial hits and critically-acclaimed films in English and Hindi including Dushman, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Sangharsh, Hera Pheri, Lage Raho Munnabhai, Cape Karma, Straight, Bhoothnath (for which he won a Filmfare award) and more besides commercials.
Inside the industry
But the Malayali has been part of only one Malayalam film - Shaji N Karun’s Vanaprastham.
“When visual effects first came to India, the equipment was too expensive for the Malayalam industry to afford. But now the scenario is fast changing.” Ask him how different working in Bollywood and Hollywood is and he says, “There is extensive preparation before shooting an English film, especially since the cost involved is high.
In Hindi, many people set out to make a film for the wrong reasons - either to be famous or to tell the world ‘I’ve money.’”
But Biju swears he has never been looked down upon because he’s a Malayali. “At least, the people whom I’ve worked with have evolved above such petty things.”
Life in the film industry is a financial and emotional roller coaster ride. “Yes, there’s always uncertainty and new challenges. But I like living life that way,” says Biju who admires people who dare to take risks.
The ‘3 Idiots’ experience
“The film deals with issues I’ve always wanted to address. It’s sheer pleasure working with director Raju Hirani. He worked on the script for a year and a half. The entire crew had faith in him.
It sure reflected in the film,” Biju says. “Raju is an absolute filmmaker. He works about 20 hours a day spurred by his passion to be different.”
Education is...
Biju is thankful to his parents “who just let me be me.” “I was the local electrician during my childhood and made things as diverse as a hencoop to an electric bell. My parents never dissuaded me from following my dreams.”
Sure enough, as the school director of iMET Academy of VFX and Animation, Vyttila, Kochi, Biju has clear views on education. “I believe in imparting education with freedom. Specialisation in one field shouldn’t result in alienation from the rest. At iMET, we ensure that all our students get the right manure for their growth so that they find their foothold by themselves.
Current projects
Biju is now working on the visual effects of Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Hollywood film ‘Broken Horses’ and Rajesh Mapuskar’s ‘Ferrari ki Sawari.’ “I’ll be at the Guggenheim Museum in Berlin to interact with the audience on the video installation I’m doing with my friend Kabir Mohanty. It’s about multiplicity without borders.”
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