SS Rajamouli Rejects AI Claims Around 'Varanasi' Teaser, Calls Them an Insult to Craft
The filmmaker dismisses speculation that his next film’s visuals were AI-generated, while acknowledging limited uses for the technology as a creative aid.
Film-maker S S Rajamouli has firmly dismissed claims that the teaser for his upcoming film Varanasi relied on generative artificial intelligence, calling such suggestions dismissive of the labour and skill involved in its creation.
The speculation followed the unveiling of a three-minute teaser last November in Hyderabad, where Rajamouli introduced the project to an audience of fans and international media. The visuals, which blended live-action elements with computer-generated imagery, were widely praised online, though some viewers questioned whether the imagery had been produced using AI tools.
Speaking shortly after the launch, Rajamouli said the accusation reflected a misunderstanding of both the process and the people behind the work. He described months of manual effort by a large team of artists, beginning with hand-drawn concept frames and continuing through an intensive rendering process.
According to the director, work on the teaser began in October, with artists labouring continuously until the days leading up to its release. Each frame, he said, required long hours of rendering, and the final weeks were marked by round-the-clock work. To attribute the result to artificial intelligence, he argued, undermines the creative and technical contribution of the artists involved.
AI
While rejecting the idea that AI played a role in the teaser’s creation, Rajamouli did not dismiss the technology outright. He acknowledged that AI tools can be useful at an early, exploratory stage of filmmaking, particularly in accelerating basic processes or generating rough ideas.
However, he stressed that such tools remain supplementary rather than central to his approach. For Rajamouli, AI is comparable to an additional assistant, helpful in limited contexts but incapable of replacing human judgement, imagination, or craft.
The comments come at a time when debates over AI’s role in creative industries have intensified, with concerns ranging from authorship and originality to labour displacement. Rajamouli’s position places him among filmmakers who see value in technological assistance, while drawing a clear line between automation and artistry.