Responding to a reporter’s question, a woman wittily offers life advice: “Block him and sleep early. He may be temporary, but the dark circles are forever.” In another viral moment, two students take a jab at Isaac Newton, ‘blaming’ him for discovering gravity and thus indirectly sending them to school to study it. Welcome to the bizarre and oddly relatable world of AI (artificial intelligence) generated content that’s flooding social media!
Theatres have also become new witnesses to the shift, with the first of the lot being Love You, Kannada’s first AI-generated film, also claiming to be the world’s first, which released recently. A total of `10 lakh was spent for the film, bankrolled and helmed by Narasimha Murthy.
Though the romantic drama went on to garner mixed responses, it was praised for the unconventional effort.
In an age when videos can be created without ever stepping onto a set and AI has begun to seep into every layer of production, the film industry finds itself at a crossroads. It is confronting a new creative frontier, where opportunity and unease go hand in hand.
Cinematographer-filmmaker Rajeev Ravi sees the rise of AI not with alarm, but with cautious optimism. “The AI tool has become so advanced that the process is almost effortless. It should be seen as just another tool that helps us express. I’m looking forward to it and I’m open to using it,” he says.
Ravi, like many others in the industry, is already experimenting with AI workflows. Still, the pace of development unsettles him.
“What AI is doing is exciting, but the layoffs that could come along with it, in the future, are worrying,” he shares. That sense of both possibility and unease finds an echo in the words of actor Prakash Belawadi. He doesn’t think AI will replace actors in India anytime soon, not purely for cost-cutting, at least. “Most actors would still cost less than AI or robots. But experimental productions will happen, probably with short films,” he opines.
However, director KM Chaitanya acknowledges AI’s potential in areas where safety and scale are priorities. “If there’s a risky stunt, I’d rather AI handle it than risk a life. And if I need an army of 10,000 people, I don’t need to hire them anymore. AI can save money.”
Belawadi is not entirely convinced about AI replacing stardom, but he does see where the future might be headed. “I don’t know if ever AI-made ‘stars’ will exist. But, if today’s and even yesteryears’ great stars could be cloned by AI in their youthful images, there is a possibility of their popularity surviving beyond their lifetimes through the versions,” he opines.
The concern isn’t always about what AI can do - it’s about what might be lost in the process. Some directors, filmmaker Pawan Kumar explains, will always value human collaboration and the shared energy on set. “Just like people still choose to paint even though photography exists, working with human actors will be a creative choice - not a limitation,” he adds. Ravi echoes a similar sentiment. While he’s open to exploring the possibilities AI brings, he draws a clear line when it comes to replacing actors. For him, the future lies not in substitution, but in synergy.
While AI can impress visually, it struggles to evoke the vulnerability of human emotion. “Acting isn’t just about showing emotion,” says Chaitanya. “It’s about conveying something layered, unpredictable, which only flawed, feeling humans can do.”
He sees the recreation of deceased actors as a temporary gimmick whose novelty could fade over time. Deep down, audiences know these aren’t real actors, limiting emotional connection.
The conversation around AI in cinema isn’t limited to filmmakers – audiences are beginning to reflect on it too. “Part of what makes an actor’s performance so appealing is their ability to add certain quirks unique to the character,” says Nischal Das, a film enthusiast. He adds, “It’s usually not in the script. It comes from an impulse when the actor has fully embodied the role. Humans are far too complex to replicate beyond the obvious.”
As the industry wrestles with the landscape, one thing is clear: AI is not the end of cinema, but it may redefine how it’s made.
(With inputs from Sucheta Roy)