Raanjhanaa's AI reboot reignites copyright debate

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the movie business, enabling filmmakers to redesign the plots and twists in old hits, transcending human imagination, but also raising uncomfortable questions around the artistic integrity and potentially fueling legal battles.

- Lata Jha

Take for instance the well-loved 2013 film Raanjhanaa. Film studio Eros International is preparing to re-release the Dhanush and Sonam Kapoor-starrer movie in the Tamil Nadu market with a climax different from the original, powered by AI edits. Aanand L. Rai, who directed and co-produced it under his banner Color Yellow Productions, claims he wasn't consulted by the studio to re-introduce the film with these edits. The studio says it's the exclusive copyright holder and producer, and is fully entitled, legally and ethically, to adapt and re-release the film.