Stars and their graphic avatars

Shah Rukh Khan has now joined the league of actors who have played the Hulk, Smaug – the dragon and Avatar; who have wooed their fans not just with their charm but with their graphic avatars too. After his Happy New Year co-star Deepika Padukone paired up with Rajinikanth in photo-realistic performance capture film Kochadaiiyaan, SRK turns the rough and tough Atharva in the graphic novel- Atharva - The Origin with the same name. Check out who are in competition with King Khan in the graphical war of performance capture technology.

Shah Rukh Khan as Atharva
After giving a glimpse of his animated avatar in the film Ra.One, Shah Rukh Khan has left his fans awestruck in the teaser of the Atharva – The Origin. King Khan features in and as Atharva in the graphic novel which has already got fans talking about its mesmerizing world class visuals. SRK has always been creative in his films from performing stunts to incorporating animation and VFX, but his muscular personality, loaded with arms and the intense look, made his fans wait in anticipation for the movie’s release.

Deepika Padukone as Vadhana
Deepika Padukone got a taste of VFX when she featured in Rajinikanth’s magnum opus Kochadaiiyaan. The doe-eyed diva looked no less than a princess when she played Princess Vadhana in the film made on a whopping budget of about Rs 125 crore. Deepika not just played Rajinikanth’s love interest, but also mesmerized the fans with her charm and poise. Her look in the film was also appreciated and had even expressed her happiness for working without make-up in the film.

Bill Nighy as Davy Jones
As much as we love Johnny Depp aka Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean series, we hate the wriggly-ugly Davy Jones in the film series. Bill Nighy, who is hardly recognized behind the identity of Davy Jones, has earned more recognition as the most hated character in the film series than in normal life. With a presence dreaded by many and with a face that of an octopus-like monster, Davy Jones is the result of fantastic motion picture technology.

Rajinikanth in Kochadaiiyaan
Rajinikanth is regarded as the father of Indian film industry and the unstoppable star was seen in an animated avatar in the Kochadaiiyaan. The star, who has inspired several jokes, played a triple role in India’s first photo-realistic performance capture film. Rajini acted on the tunes of director-daughter Soundarya and was seen wielding a sword, performing Lord Shiva’s Tandava dance and romancing Princess Vadhana besides cracking a few witty one-liners.

Zoe Saldana in Avatar There are no second thoughts about why James Cameron’s Avatar swept away the Oscars. Actress Zoe Saldana was seen as Neytiri -a blue 10-feet-tall Na'vi tribal of Pandora, who was seen riding dragons, jumping from tree to tree and romancing Jake – the avatar. Saldana has already signed for the film’s upcoming sequel which promises more action and adventure. The epic science fiction film dominated all the award functions and went down in the history of cinema as a film getting a theme based park created by Disney.

Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug The millions of fans of Benedict Cumberbatch could not recognize him behind the face of Smaug – the dragon in the Hobbit series. Benedict and the motion picture technology brought the fearsome dragon to life with such excellence that the moviegoers got lost in its magnificent presence on the silver screen. The dragon was the lead character in one of 2014’s most anticipated films - The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and despite being the villain, he won the hearts of the moviegoers with the visual appeal.

Andy Serkis – Gollum
The moviegoers cannot think of Gollum from The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film series as a normal human being, courtesy the excellence with which the character was brought to life by actor Andy Serkis and the motion picture technology. Gollum was not just a visually different creature, but Andy’s acting skills rendered an unexpected personality never seen before or heard before, in fictional cinema. The dark, weak and panic-stricken Gollum will definitely be the best production of technology.

Mark Ruffalo as Hulk
We all have been mesmerized with the power and personality of Hulk in The Avengers, but the man who brought the fictional character of the giant Hulk to life was Mark Ruffalo. With the help of motion picture technology, Mark Ruffalo got a giant body with ripping muscles and abs, impossible to achieve in real life. The power that he exudes by expressing his rage and dominates the scene with his quirky green body, gets him a rank among the most popular fictional characters in the history of cinema.

Andy Serkis as Caesar
Andy Serkis put in a lot of effort to step into the skin of an ape in Hollywood film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Andy played the ape – Caesar, the leader of the apes. He not just did a brilliant work by turning into an ape and performing some wonderful stunts, but was also appreciated for emotional depth and intriguing story. The way he communicated emotions without uttering a word was perfected by the motion-capture technology.