How Bobby Deol was de-aged in Alpha: YFX Studios reveals AI and VFX process behind his transformation
Yash Raj Films’ visual effects division, yFX Studios, has detailed the process behind the de-aging effect used for Bobby Deol in Alpha, the studio’s current theatrical release starring Alia Bhatt and Sharvari. The film has crossed 92.75 crore worldwide at the box office.
The effect appears in a chapter of Alpha where Bobby Deol’s character is de-aged to an earlier period, recalling his roles in Soldier, Gupt, and Barsaat. Directed by Shiv Rawail, the transformation was developed as a storytelling device intended to keep audiences focused on the character's emotional journey rather than the effect itself.
Director Shiv Rawail said, “From the very beginning, we knew this wasn’t a visual effect that existed for spectacle alone. For me, every creative decision has to serve the story. Hence, it was an important storytelling decision because the audience needed to believe they were seeing the character at a very specific point in his life. If that illusion didn’t feel seamless, the emotional journey wouldn’t land the way we intended. The challenge was always to make the technology invisible so that audiences remained invested in the story and the performance, not the effect.”
Bobby Deol said, “It was honestly surreal seeing years disappear from my face. I’ve played many different characters over the years, but this was a first for me. As actors, we’re always fascinated by how cinema continues to evolve, and this was one of those moments where you realise how far filmmaking has come. But technology can only do so much, you still have to perform the character truthfully. That was the exciting part for me, trusting the process while making sure the emotions remained completely honest.”
Head of yFX Studios and VFX Supervisor Sherry Bharda said, “Today’s audiences are incredibly discerning, which means visual effects have to be virtually undetectable. At yFX, for the first time, we’ve deployed AI combined with visual effects with this level of fidelity and consistency across an entire sequence, rather than for the odd shot here and there. It wasn’t easy, because despite Bobby’s rich legacy on screen, usable footage of him from that era, in matching lighting and angles, was still hard to come by. So our artists had far less to train and work with. The technology only takes you so far, skin, wrinkles, and even the eyes all age differently, and getting those small details wrong is what breaks the illusion. AI de-ageing is notorious for the ‘dead eyes’ problem, where a face can look right, but the gaze feels hollow and mechanical, so we used a hybrid approach, with the yFX pipeline guiding AI to keep our artists in control of every shot. That’s where the real work of getting every nuance right happened, because de-ageing isn't simply about making someone look younger, it’s about retaining the performance while making sure the audience never questions what they’re seeing. Work like this is a real milestone for us at yFX. It was a close collaboration between Shiv, Bobby, and our team at yFX to bring that vision to life.”
Produced by Aditya Chopra and directed by Shiv Rawail, Alpha also stars Anil Kapoor in a pivotal role and is currently playing in cinemas worldwide.
Also Read: Bobby Deol cheers for Batwara 1947 teaser and Sunny Deol; says, “This movie is definitely going to be awesome”
Catch us for latest Bollywood News, New Bollywood Movies update, Box office collection,New Movies Release, Bollywood News Hindi, Entertainment News, Bollywood News Today & upcoming movies 2024 and stay updated with latest hindi movies only on Bollywood Hungama.