AI isn’t just helping people create new videos — it’s also helping them modify old ones.
The Tamil version of the 2013 Hindi movie ‘Raanjhanaa’ will be re-released with a fresh ending that’s been created with AI, the film’s producers have said. The movie had originally had a ending with the death of the male protagonist. But the producers are now re-releasing the movie with an AI-generated “happy” ending.
“The timeless love story returns to the big screen! #Ambikapathy re-releasing in theatres from August 1st… A new ending powered by AI,” Upswing Entertainment said on X. The movie had been renamed Ambikapathy in its Tamil version.
But the AI-created changed ending hasn’t met with the approval of the director of the movie Aanand L Rai. “I’m heartbroken that this is the future we’re heading toward, where intent and authorship are disposable. All I can do is dissociate myself from such a reckless and dystopian experiment,” Rai told PTI.
“Raanjhanaa didn’t need a new climax. It had heart, and honesty. It became a cult film because people connected to it with its flaws, and imperfections. To see its ending altered without a word of discussion is a gross violation not just of the film, but of the trust of the fans who’ve carried the film in their hearts for 12 years,” he added filmmaker said.
The film’s producers, Eros, said called the AI-generated ending a “creative reimagining”. “This is a creative reimagining, not a replacement, and is consistent with global industry practices including anniversary editions, alternate cuts, and modernised remasters,” Eros’s group CEO Pradeep Dwivedi said. “It is clearly positioned as an alternate, AI-enhanced version—akin to Classic cuts or re-edits seen globally,” he added.
There has been a push towards using AI for commercial productions in recent times. Earlier this year, Amazon Prime Video’s video House of David had extensively used AI for its scenes. Just yesterday, Netflix had said that it had used AI for the first time in one of its shows, when an Argentinian sci-fi show had needed to show a collapsing building.
But the Indian makers Raanjhanaa have taken things a step further, and seem to be recreating and changing a whole ending using AI. This raises the tantalizing prospect of alternate endings in movies — given how cheap AI has made it to create videos, it’s not inconceivable that movies of the future could have multiple paths and endings, and users will be able to choose storylines which they want. These are exciting times for the TV and film industry, which after some initial skepticism, seems to be taking to AI in a big way.