In this interview, Bejoy Arputharaj, Founder & CEO of PhantomFX, shares how a childhood fascination with Jurassic Park sparked the journey behind one of India’s fastest-growing VFX studios. From humble beginnings in a small Chennai apartment to acquiring the legendary Tippett Studio, Bejoy reflects on PhantomFX’s global rise, its deep-rooted passion for creature and fantasy work, and the evolving role of AI and real-time engines in the VFX pipeline. This is the written version of the Vitrina podcast interview with Bejoy Arputharaj—summarized for quick reading and reformatted into a Q&A style for clarity.

Bijoy:
“Phantom is a post-production house specializing in visual effects and animation. We are based out of India but spread across five countries as of now. Phantom started in 2011 with a small team of four members in a small rented apartment, is now spread across five countries and four cities in India including Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bangalore and we are right now around 700 people across the globe. We recently acquired the very famous legendary studio called Tippett Studio based in the US. Phil Tippett, the founder of Tippett Studio, is the one who directed Jurassic Park’s Dinosaur. Recently, we launched our Chinese office concentrating more on high-end Chinese films. We are expanding globally in other regions as well, including Europe and looking at Australia.”

Bijoy:
“Visual effects is always my passion. It’s my childhood passion. When I was a kid, my school took me on a small excursion to watch the Jurassic Park film. That sparked me. I was so amazed and thrilled to see all those dinosaurs walking across, it looked so real. My brother still says that day I told him someday I will be doing this. This is my childhood passion, and I’ve been persistent about it. I come from a rural background in India, and I’m a self-taught artist. I started doing commercials and animations for TV channels, directed commercials myself, and even did voiceovers. But my passion was always towards creating creatures, fantasy elements, environments, and science fiction. So I decided to push myself beyond commercials. I moved to Chennai, studied visual effects, and worked my way up. By 2010, I worked with Prime Focus Limited as a CG Head, then decided to move towards Hollywood projects. Due to visa issues, I ended up jobless but then received a sudden opportunity from a US director who saw my online portfolio named PhantomFX. I successfully executed 600 shots from India, and that’s how PhantomFX started.”

Bijoy:
“It was linear; every year we grew to around 30 to 40 people. During the pandemic, there was a setback, but we bounced back. After 2022, we saw a sudden surge in growth. Phantom became a public limited company; we had more resources, were able to acquire companies, and projects started flowing in. Up to 400-500 people, the growth was linear.”

Bijoy:
“Phantom was founded out of my passion for visual effects; it was never just a business. Right from the beginning, Phantom focused only on creative stuff, never a roto and prep service-oriented business. My passion was with creatures and fantasy elements, so we specialized in CGI. Today, we have a very strong creature team and department envisioning concepts and environments. CGI is our strength, and clients come back to us for our expertise, especially for heavy CGI shows.”

Bijoy:
“We recently worked on the Netflix film ‘Kandahar Hijack IC 814’, involving lots of CGI aircraft. It was challenging as it came to us at the last minute from another vendor. We still managed quality and timely delivery. Netflix appreciated us for our support, quality, and turnovers. We also recently worked on a Chinese film called ‘Fangsheng 2’ through Tippett, where almost 90% of CG was done at Phantom.”

Bijoy:
“Through Tippett, we’ve already delivered major shows. Our pipelines are almost integrated; our technology teams are still improving pipeline integration by writing tool sets. Within six months, we’ll have fully functional, working pipeline including AI tool sets implemented across the facilities.”

Bijoy:
“We have a strong real-time team with Unreal Engine. We’ve successfully implemented Unreal into our pipeline, creating environments and real-time visuals on set. On AI, we are in a research phase, using offline models integrated into compositing and 3D tools. Recently, we launched our AI 3D model creators, significantly increasing productivity by around 30%. We have a research team clubbed with Tippett’s research team, working on innovative AI models.”

Bijoy:
“We recently expanded to China; Europe is next, due to its good tax credit systems. We are already working with Australian clients, and Australia is something we’re looking at long-term due to attractive tax incentives.”

Bijoy:
“In my experience, artists are inspired by leaders, whether their team leads, supervisors, or managers. Leadership must start from the top. I try to lead by example and be involved in quality control. When recruiting, I look not just at technical abilities but cultural fit. We have a dedicated training division embedding our cultural uniqueness. We also teach filmmaking as it’s crucial to visual effects. I stopped micromanaging, allowing my team to own responsibilities, make mistakes, learn and grow. That is reflected in our recent rapid growth.”

Bijoy:
“Our vision is to become a global media leader, requiring financial stability. Going public provided financial backing without compromising control, unlike private equity which could influence managerial decisions. Being public provided advantages like increased bank leverage, aiding growth and acquisitions. It involves greater responsibility and pressure for good business results, which I willingly accept.”

Bijoy:
“AI won’t completely replace filmmaking; it’s another evolution. Computers enhanced human efforts rather than replacing them. Similarly, AI will increase productivity and facilitate more productions rather than eliminating creative roles. Technology constantly evolves, and adapting to it is critical. PhantomFX embraces technological advancements like AI to maintain industry leadership.”

Bijoy:
“Jurassic Park inspired my entry into visual effects, but ironically, I never worked on dinosaur films until now. Acquiring Tippett Studio excited me, respecting Phil Tippett’s legacy. Their specialization in creatures aligns perfectly with my childhood passion and the initial spark from Jurassic Park.”