S. S. Rajamouli Unveils India’s Most Advanced MoCap Lab at Annapurna Studios

In a landmark moment for Indian filmmaking, RRR director S.S. Rajamouli has unveiled what is being described as India’s most advanced motion capture facility — the A&M MoCap Lab — at Annapurna Studios, Hyderabad.

The state-of-the-art facility is a joint venture between actor-producer Akkineni Nagarjuna’s Annapurna Studios and Baahubali producer Shobu Yarlagadda’s Mihira Visual Labs. Hollywood-based Animatrik Film Design, known for its work on Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and RRR, serves as the technology partner.

During the unveiling, Rajamouli revealed that crucial sequences of his upcoming film Varanasi, starring Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Prithviraj Sukumaran, were captured at the new facility.

Bridging a Long-Standing Technology Gap

Rajamouli described the launch as the closing of a critical infrastructure gap in Indian cinema. While Indian technicians have long contributed to global productions, the country lacked a world-class performance capture facility on home soil. Reflecting on films like Baahubali and Eega, he noted that access to such advanced motion capture technology could have further enhanced those projects. With A&M now operational, that limitation has effectively been removed.

A Strategic Leap for Indian Cinema

Nagarjuna characterized the launch as a watershed moment, stating that Indian filmmakers have historically aspired to mount large-scale productions matching global standards but were constrained by limited access to cutting-edge technology. The new lab, he said, enables creators to develop epic action dramas, science fiction spectacles, and high-end animation projects entirely within Hyderabad.

Yarlagadda positioned the initiative as part of a broader strategy to build advanced technological ecosystems within India. For Indian cinema to compete consistently on a global stage, he emphasized, infrastructure must be built domestically rather than outsourced.

Brett Ineson, President and CTO of Animatrik Film Design, highlighted the significance of integrating global-standard performance capture systems into an Indian production hub, enabling immersive and emotionally rich storytelling aligned with international benchmarks.

Technical Capabilities

The A&M MoCap Lab features a 60x40x30-foot capture volume, equipped with Vicon Valkyrie VK26 cameras, delivering sub-millimeter optical tracking precision. Real-time data streaming is powered by Vicon Live, while Unreal Engine integration allows live virtual production previsualization.

The facility also includes Stereo Head-Mounted Camera (HMC) units for high-resolution facial performance capture. Notably modular in design, the setup can be dismantled and reassembled on location, offering flexibility for large-scale productions.

C.V. Rao, CTO of Annapurna Studios, underscored its value in pre-production workflows. Directors and cinematographers can finalize camera blocking, lensing, movement, and frame rate decisions in a dynamic virtual environment before principal photography, minimizing expensive trial-and-error during live shoots.

A Milestone Year

The launch coincides with the 50th anniversary of Annapurna Studios. The studio has announced plans to open the facility to Indian and international filmmakers, animation studios, and game developers seeking a high-end production partner in Asia.

Significantly, this is not Rajamouli’s first technological milestone at Annapurna. He previously inaugurated India’s first Dolby cinema processing facility at the same studio — reinforcing a consistent push toward elevating Indian cinema’s technical backbone.

With the A&M MoCap Lab now operational, Hyderabad strengthens its position as a global production hub, and Indian cinema takes a decisive step toward technological self-reliance and international competitiveness.