Hyderabad has long been India’s IT hub. The city saw the arrival of Silicon Valley giants at the turn of the millennium and has since grown into a centre of innovation in South Asia. Parallelly, the city’s cinema has also grown by leaps and bounds, emerging from the tag of ‘regional cinema’ to becoming a ‘pan-India’ behemoth. But for Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, this is just the beginning.
Speaking at the launch of a state-of-the-art VFX studio in the city on Thursday, the CM said marrying tech and cinema will allow Hyderabad to become the home for even Hollywood productions.
Revanth Reddy on Hollywood in Hyderabad
On Thursday, CM Reddy inaugurated the Hyderabad office of Eyeline Studios, the innovation hub of streaming giant Netflix. The studio has been instrumental in creating the VFX for some of Netflix’s biggest projects, including Wednesday, One Piece, and Stranger Things. After the inauguration, as he addressed reporters present, the CM said, “This is the stepping stone for my dream. This is not only a place for Tollywood, Bollywood, or Kollywood. I have been focusing on Hollywood. Today, I am happy that Netflix is here, and I can say with authority that Hollywood is here. My dream is going to come true.”
The CM pitched Hyderabad as a hub for innovation in films with more state-of-the-art VFX studios coming up in the city, inviting Netflix to set up a bigger facility in the ‘Bharat Future City’ being developed by the state government on the city outskirts.
What is Eyeline Studios?
In a release, Netflix said the launch of Eyeline Studios in India aligns with its global strategy to expand its production innovation infrastructure. The 32,000-square-foot facility in the heart of Hyderabad features state-of-the-art technology for advanced visual effects and generative virtual effects, supported by a hybrid cloud infrastructure.
A message from Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos was played at the event, where the streaming boss highlighted Eyeline Studios work. “They have worked on titles like Happy Gilmore 2, Wednesday, and Stranger Things, and have been absolutely world-class.”
Also present at the inauguration were actor and former VFX artist Rana Daggubati, along with Sanjay Jaju, Secretary, Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting; Jeff Shapiro, CEO of Eyeline Studios; and Telangana IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu.
Speaking on stage, Rana said, I have been seeing the journey of VFX evolve, and the AI pipeline take shape. I believe this is the best time for such stories because what you can imagine can come alive on the screen now.”