Farhan Akhtar Backs Aanand L Rai, Dhanush Over AI-altered Ending of Raanjhanaa
Ever since the ending of Raanjhanaa was altered with AI, it has sparked a debate on the right of artistes over their art and the effects of artificial intelligence. Now, filmmaker Farhan Akhtar has expressed his thoughts on the same and said that he will always stand with the creators. During the teaser launch of his upcoming film 120 Bahadur, Akhtar said, “I will always stand with the creator of the film. And if the creator of the film was unhappy about his or her work being changed, I will always support the creator. So that’s where my loyalty lies. The rest, the finer print of what happened there, I am not privy to. But that’s all I can say about that.”
Ritesh Sidhwani, the co-owner of Excel Entertainment, who was also present at the event, agreed with Farhan and added that AI is something we need to embrace and use in the right way. “AI is something we need to embrace and use in the most right way and effective way. And I have said this even before. There were times when, I am talking of earlier times, when we used to do research based on going to a library, reading a book, opening that. Then Google came into our lives, and we started doing it in a different way. I think you need to use AI smartly. And don’t get lazy with it. But I absolutely agree with the fact that you can’t do it without the consent of something.”
In Raanjhanaa’s climax, Dhanush’s character Kundan died without his love for Zoya (Sonam Kapoor) being reciprocated. The AI-altered happy ending of the film showed that Kundan is alive. Director Aanand L Rai and Dhanush expressed their disappointment over the same.
In a statement, Dhanush said, “The re-release of Raanjhanaa with an AI-altered climax has completely disturbed me. This alternate ending has stripped the film of its very soul, and the concerned parties went ahead with it despite my clear objection. This is not the film I committed to 12 years ago. The use of AI to alter films or content is a deeply concerning precedent for both art and artists. It threatens the integrity of storytelling and the legacy of cinema. I sincerely hope that stricter regulations are put in place to prevent such practices in the future.”
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