Aanand L Rai On AI-Altered Ending of 'Raanjhanaa': 'Your Machines Can't Create Films'

What if in James Cameron's re-release of Titanic, the ship crashes into an iceberg, but Jack and Rose end up surviving? Or imagine a world where Romeo and Juliet live without their family threatening their love. Would these stories be etched in history without their characteristic tragedy? Filmmaker Aanand L Rai, who was busy with the post-production of his film Tere Ishk Mein, had to divert his mind to something pressing recently: The alternate AI-altered ending of his loved 2013 film Raanjhanaa.

Eros International is set to re-release an AI-powered Tamil version, Ambikapathy, on August 1 - with a twist. This "happy" version will feature an alternate ending, sparing Dhanush's character, Kundan, from his original tragic fate. The film also stars Sonam Kapoor.

Talking to The Hollywood Reporter India, Rai says he had the time of his life making Raanjhanaa, for which he got his "share of love" from the audience, but his worry is something larger.

"Fourteen years ago, we had no idea you wouldn't even require actors to alter something like this. Now, you think your machines can create films. Tomorrow, if somebody says that legally, they can alter a film or tamper with it even before it reaches the audience, what will happen? My concern right now is not for me, but for all the filmmakers. I can understand that IP legally belongs to them. They can release, they can make more money out of it. Not a problem. Why tamper?"

The filmmaker says the decision to alter the ending through AI would have still been understandable had the audience rejected the climax of Raanjhanaa, which, is remembered for its powerful finale, where Kundan reflects on being reborn in Varanasi and falling in love with Zoya, again.

The poster of 'Ambikapathy'

"Tragedy is a genre. You can't change the story and its mood. An actor who has created a character like this knows that he's going to die in the end. So, he applies his craft to the entire film, not just for the last scene! His entire input for that character is done with the knowledge that the character is going to die. How can you just tweak that and make it look something different?"

The filmmaker, who made Raanjhanaa after the breakout success of his 2011 romantic comedy Tanu Weds Manu, insists that his response isn't fueled by anger, but by a deep-seated concern.

"It's not about being heartbroken. I'm concerned for one reason: that it can happen to us again. Let's rectify that. I'll raise my voice and make everybody alert. In the future, all directors or writers should have this clause that whatever they lock is going to be the producer's IP. Anything you do after that through AI, VFX or whatever is relevant then, should not be allowed without their consent. I'll be happy if they (Eros) make money, but I'll be happier if they make money with the same IP rather than changing it."

In an interview with The Guardian, Pradeep Dwivedi, the chief executive of Eros Media Group, defended the studio's decision to re-release the film with the AI climax as the company’s long-term creative and commercial vision in technological innovation.

The report quoted him as saying that the alteration was an "exploratory baby step" and confirmed that Eros was “significantly evaluating” its library of more than 3,000 releases for similar AI treatments. "If the technology allows us to do something and we can do something good with it, why not? There has to be a symbiotic understanding of what the technology allows, what the creative process can foster, and what the audience accepts," he was quoted as saying.