Indian firm to re-release film with alternative AI ending

An Indian film company is re-releasing a 2013 romantic drama with an alternative AI ending without the involvement of its director, in what could be the first instance of its kind in global cinema.

- Hannah Abraham

Raanjhanaa, a Hindi-language film that followed the doomed romance between a Hindu man and a Muslim woman, will return to cinemas on 1 August under its Tamil-language title Ambikapathy. The film's original tragic ending will be replaced by a "happy" one.

Pradeep Dwivedi, the CEO of Eros Media World Group, defended the company's decision, saying that technological innovation was part of its long-term creative and commercial vision. He said 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.

He said: "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."

The re-release has drawn strong criticism from the film's director, Aanand L Rai, who said he learned of the move through media reports.