AI Debate in Bollywood
Opinions about the role of AI in Bollywood are diverse, from embracing AI's potential to concerns about preserving the essence of storytelling.
Although the fast development of artificial intelligence (AI) has caused significant upheaval in Hollywood, leading to the dual strikes of writers and actors, the Indian film industry, which provides employment to over 850,000 people, has not widely engaged in this debate. Opinions vary in Bollywood: some filmmakers and creators are downplaying AI's potential impact, while others are advocating for a more serious consideration of its implications.
Award-winning director Shekhar Kapur, known for his emotive film Masoom (1983), recently experimented with ChatGPT in scripting its sequel. He was struck by AI's intuitive grasp of the plot's moral complexities. The AI-generated script took a fresh turn from the original film's narrative. This experiment with AI exemplifies the technology's potential. Kapur describes the future with AI as "chaotic," noting its ability to perform tasks in seconds that would take human scriptwriters weeks.
Keitan Yadav and Harry Hingorani of Redchillies.vfx, a visual effects studio founded by Shah Rukh Khan, believe that while AI aids in idea generation, it has not yet reached the 4K resolution of motion pictures. However, director Guhan Senniappan challenges this notion with his upcoming Tamil movie Weapon, featuring a sequence entirely created by AI, showcasing a younger version of lead actor Sathyaraj.
Despite his reliance on AI for Weapon, Senniappan admits a preference for live-action shoots, citing the organic quality that manual work brings. Shekhar Kapur echoes this sentiment, recognizing AI's limitations in replicating human emotions and creativity, but he also sees AI as a democratizing force in filmmaking, breaking down traditional hierarchies and empowering more people to tell their stories.
AI's applications extend beyond filmmaking. Shah Rukh Khan was one of the first Bollywood stars to use AI in an advertisement campaign, leveraging deepfake technology to promote small businesses during the pandemic. This campaign, executed by Ogilvy India, generated an astonishing 300,000 ads nationwide.
Nevertheless, with no clear regulatory framework in India for AI use, concerns about misuse loom large. The Indian film industry's magnitude is significant, with a 2019 Deloitte report highlighting it as the world’s largest in terms of annual film production. As AI tools sharpen and deepfake videos of Indian stars like Rashmika Mandanna and Alia Bhatt proliferate online, the industry faces both economic and ethical dilemmas. Siddharth Roy Kapur, former president of the Producers Guild of India, acknowledges the need for structured conversations around AI in the Indian context, especially given the technology's rapid advancement.