Now, the star is in your pocket

Gone are the days when you would have to chase a star and wait for a glimpse of him/her. With the help of Augmented Reality, thanks to Avantari, an R&D and Product Development firm owned by filmmaker Mani Shankar, a star can visit your home and interact with you. All you need to do is download the app and take a printout of the marker.

You can take a picture with the star in your own home.

“AR has been around for the last three years. In fact, one of the early successes of AR was Pokemon Go. But we come from a different background — of making movies, ad films and 3D holograms. When we created Narendra Modi’s hologram and went on the shows, even though people knew that it was a hologram, they would surround the unit thinking that he would come out after his speech. That is the kind of involvement. When two cross-fields collide, innovation happens,” says filmmaker Mani Shankar, talking about the genesis of the idea, which his son, daughter and son-in-law have taken forward. 

How the app works 

Download the app and print the marker.
Open the app, put your phone over the marker and step back a little. You will see a life-size image of the star in front of you, through Augmented Reality.
You’ll see your own surroundings in the phone, giving you an impression that he or she is right in front of you.

With Rana all set to be the first actor to ‘walk’ into your home, Mani reveals why he selected the actor. “Rana is known as an actor and is now a big star after Baahubali, but even before he got into films, he ran a post-production studio and knows technology very well. I thought one of the best persons to validate the technology would be someone who also knows and understands it. And, most importantly, it would be a good idea to start with a star from Hyderabad. I was extremely happy that Rana and Kajal walked into our set and we had a great shoot. We did two Augmented Reality films with them — a solo one with Rana, and one with both of them.”

Kajal Aggarwal was also involved in the shoot.

Augmented Reality for movies

“Today, social media has become very powerful. But AR enables interaction.

“You can bring a celebrity to your home, stand next to him or her and take a picture. The star will even talk to you on a personal basis. This is the beginning of something beautiful. We want to take it to the next level,” says Mani Shankar, adding that with the help of advanced AI engines, a two-way communication will also be possible in a year or two. 

“You ask a question and the actor will answer. The whole idea is to have a one-on-one interaction, without it actually being there. You get an opportunity to talk, act and dance with an actor. You feel that you have actually spoken with them. This is the satisfaction quotient of AR. We can even go live with the artiste,” he adds. 

When the CM of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, became the first person in the world to communicate via AR through an app, Mani and his team understood that AR can work big time, and create a sensation.

“We are now planning to change the app’s architecture and create a single master app for all movie industries,” he says, adding, “Producers put out many promotional materials close to a movie’s release. If Rana comes home and tells you how to tie a dhoti, it will be interesting. Every time a new AR film comes, you will get a notification that the star is available to interact with you. They will be waiting for you and you can check whenever you’re free.” 

He continues, “There also could be a poster of a hero, walking, which is as tall as the actor himself, at a movie theatre. There will be a marker on it. If you put your phone on it you would see some action. He could remove the sunglasses, come out, say a dialogue and then go back to the poster! Future technology can enable you to even shoot a film with a celebrity.” 

About the cost of building the technology, Mani Shankar says, “More than the cost, the thought is important. My son Bhairav, daughter Rohini and son-in-law John — all sat together and made it. We first experimented with Rohini, then developed it. We have to take care of many things — the person should be of the same height when he or she appears at your home, they can’t be any different; that is also a difficult task.” 

“We’re driving this nationwide. Many from Bollywood are already talking to us. We will move into all domains and try to interact with big stars,” he says.