All eyes on AI

How a Kannada priest set out to make India's first certified Al film

- BY PRATHIMA NANDAKUMAR

The Kannada film Love You is a musical cult love story with a cast of 15 and a dozen songs. Except that no human is part of the cast. Nor have the songs been produced in the traditional manner. When Love You releases later this month, it will be India's first film fully created using artificial intelligence. Its writer-director-producer S. Narasimhamurthy and graphic artist-turned-AI technician Nuthan set out on this ambitious venture almost a year ago and finally got it certified by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on April 22 for a theatre release. Nuthan, 38, sifted through hundreds of AI tools and shortlisted 30 to produce the film. The duo spent ₹10 lakh to license them, with Nuthan writing the film's songs.

Interestingly, Murthy, 50, is a hereditary priest at Bagalgunte Anjaneya Swamy Temple in Bengaluru, and has previously worked on the experimental movies Garudaksha (2022) and