Explainer: Have you ever wondered how fake currency and weapons used in films are made? let’s tell

How Fake Currency and Weapons Made for Movies: Whenever you watch a scene of bank robbery, gangster, police raid or war in any Bollywood, South or Hollywood movie, bundles of notes worth crores of rupees, pistols, rifles, machine guns, grenades and other weapons are often seen on the screen. Many times these scenes look so real that a question arises in the minds of the audience, are real currency notes and real weapons really used in films?

So the answer is no, in most cases this does not happen. An entire industry works behind the fake currency and weapons seen in films. From making these things to using them on the set, strict rules are followed at every step. Let us know how the fake currency and weapons used in films are made.

Fake currency is made separately for films

The notes seen in films may look absolutely real, but they are designed in such a way that they cannot be used as real currency. Making exact copies of original notes is a legal offense in India. Therefore, filmmakers have to prepare such notes which look like the original on camera, but when seen closely, many differences are visible in them.

Often these notes have words like “For Motion Picture Use Only”, “Specimen”, “Dummy”, “Movie Prop” or similar words written on them. Many times, an imaginary face is used in place of the picture of Mahatma Gandhi or the color, number, shape or other design elements of the note are slightly changed, so that no one can use them as real notes.

The magic of the camera also helps

Camera angle, lighting and editing also play a big role in shooting films. Many times the notes that appear to be genuine to the audience are actually just paper with genuine printing on the top and bottom, while the middle is filled with ordinary white paper. This difference is not visible in scenes shot from a distance and the bundles of notes on the screen look absolutely real.

There are different companies making fake notes

There are many special companies making props in the film industry, which prepare fake currency, papers, passports, ID cards and other things only for films, web series, advertisements and TV shows. These companies also make currencies of different time periods according to the story of the film. If the film is from the 1980s, then notes of the same era are made, whereas for modern films, dummy notes of new design are made.

Real weapons are not used in films

Just as fake notes are made, in the same way most of the weapons seen in films are also not real. Many types of weapons are used in shooting, which include weapons made of rubber, fiber or plastic models, dummy weapons made of metal, airsoft or replica weapons, special weapons that do blank fire, digital weapons made from computer graphics (VFX). Which weapon will be used completely depends on the requirement of the scene and security standards.

Different in close-up scenes, different in action scenes

If an actor only has to hold a pistol in his hand or keep the gun on the table, then a light weight dummy weapon is used. But if firing is to be shown in the scene, then many times special types of blank fire weapons are used. These do not contain a real bullet, but only a special cartridge that produces sound and flash. Despite this, they are not completely toys. If safety rules are not followed, even blank fire can cause injury. Therefore, the presence of a weapons expert on the set is very important.

VFX changed the whole game

In the last few years, the use of computer graphics i.e. VFX in films has increased rapidly. Today in many films the actor has only a dummy gun in his hand. Things like the flash of gunfire, smoke, cartridge ejection, wall breaking and explosions are added later through the computer. This technology has not only increased security, but filming has also become easier than before.

Let us tell you that during the use of weapons in films, a specially trained expert is present, who is called Armorer or Weapons Master. His responsibility is to check every weapon, teach the actors how to use it safely, count the weapons before and after the shooting, ensure prevention of any kind of accident, no actor is allowed to touch or use the weapon without permission.

Why do even fake weapons look real?

Nowadays, with the help of 3D printing, high-resolution molding and advanced painting techniques, such weapons are made, which become very difficult to differentiate between real and fake. In props made for films, special attention is paid to weight, color, metal finish and small details, so that they appear absolutely realistic on camera.

Even gold and diamonds in films are fake

Not only currency notes and weapons, even the gold bars, diamonds, expensive jewellery, crowns and treasures seen in films are mostly fake. Fiber, resin, plastic, acrylic and light metals are used for these. Later, with the help of right lighting and camera angle, they are shown to be very valuable.

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