15 July,2026 03:45 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Bobby Deol. Pic via special arrangement
Yash Raj Films' Alpha, starring Alia Bhatt and Sharvari, is continuing its successful run at the box office, with the action entertainer crossing Rs 92.75 crore worldwide. While audiences have been praising the film's action and performances, one sequence in particular has sparked widespread conversation, Bobby Deol's striking de-aged appearance, which takes viewers back to his Soldier, Gupt and Barsaat era.
The impressive visual transformation was achieved by Yash Raj Films' in-house VFX division, yFX Studios, which combined artificial intelligence with advanced visual effects to recreate a younger version of Bobby Deol. Rather than using the technology as a gimmick, the makers say the de-ageing was designed to serve an important narrative purpose and help audiences believe they were seeing the character during a defining phase of his life.
Director Shiv Rawail shared that the effect had to feel completely natural for the emotional impact of the story to work.
"From the very beginning, we knew this wasn't a visual effect that existed for spectacle alone. The audience needed to believe they were seeing the character at a very specific point in his life. If that illusion didn't feel seamless, the emotional journey wouldn't land the way we intended," he said, adding that the biggest challenge was making the technology "invisible" so viewers stayed invested in the story rather than the visual effect.
For Bobby Deol, seeing himself digitally transformed into his younger self was unlike anything he had experienced before.
"It was honestly surreal seeing years disappear from my face! I've played many different characters over the years, but this was a first for me. Technology can only do so much; you still have to perform the character truthfully. That was the exciting part," the actor said.
Sherry Bharda, Head of yFX Studio, revealed that the team used a hybrid pipeline combining AI with traditional VFX techniques. He explained that recreating Bobby's younger look wasn't straightforward because usable archival footage from that era was limited, making it difficult to train AI models accurately.
According to Bharda, the team paid close attention to subtle details such as skin texture, wrinkles and eye movement, avoiding the "dead eyes" issue commonly associated with AI de-ageing. He added that the goal wasn't simply to make Bobby look younger, but to preserve the authenticity of his performance while ensuring audiences never questioned what they were seeing.
Produced by Aditya Chopra and directed by Shiv Rawail, Alpha also stars Anil Kapoor in a pivotal role and is currently playing in cinemas worldwide.
