Abhishek Bachchan DEFENDS Raja Shivaji’s VFX, says comparisons with Hollywood are unfair

May 9, 2026 - 1:14 PM IST

Abhishek Bachchan has come out in support of Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia Deshmukh amid ongoing discussions surrounding the VFX quality of Raja Shivaji. While the historical drama has emerged as a major success, some sections of social media had criticised the film’s visual effects after the trailer release, comparing it to large-scale Hollywood productions.

Abhishek Bachchan DEFENDS Raja Shivaji’s VFX, says comparisons with Hollywood are unfair

Speaking to News18, Abhishek Bachchan addressed the criticism and explained why such comparisons are unrealistic given the difference in production budgets and market scale.

“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,” the actor said.

Abhishek further pointed out that Indian regional cinema operates under completely different financial limitations compared to international studios. According to him, visual effects quality is directly connected to the amount of money and time invested in the process.

“Your studios may say that we aren’t going to give you a thousand crore to make this film because the market is such. But a film that has a budget of Rs 1000 crores for VFX, as opposed to a film that has a much smaller budget, will look different. That’s just the way it works. We love to judge, but we have to understand how the system works,” he added.

The actor also stressed that comparing Indian films, especially regional projects, with Hollywood productions is unfair because of the enormous difference in budgets allocated purely for visual effects.

“People love to compare a lot of our VFX work with what’s happening in Hollywood. They’ve budgets. Just to give you scale, they probably end up spending over Rs 5000 crores just on VFX, let alone the budget of the film. We can’t compete with that. That’s not our market,” Abhishek remarked.

Despite the VFX debate online, Raja Shivaji has received appreciation for its storytelling, performances, and scale. The film has also reportedly become only the fourth Marathi film to cross the Rs 60 crores milestone after Sairat, Ved, and Baipan Bhari Deva.

Also Read: Riteish Deshmukh, Abhishek Bachchan and Genelia Deshmukh promote Raja Shivaji on Bigg Boss Marathi 6; actor opens up about the role of Salman Khan in the film