Hollywood is debating AI. India’s filmmakers are embracing it

Hello, I am Priyanka Salve, writing to you from Singapore.

Welcome to the latest edition “in india“ — your one-stop source for stories and developments from the world’s fastest-growing major economy.

India is home to the world’s most productive film production industry. Adoption of generative AI is accelerating as producers try to juggle tighter budgets while trying to meet growing demand for content in the nation’s $32 billion media and entertainment industry, industry executives told me this week.

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During Hollywood continues to figure out how best to use AI and debates impact on jobs for filmmakers in India – the world’s largest country prolific film production industry – they took the next step.

In October last year, JioStar launched a joint venture Owned by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani Trust Industries And Walt DisneyIt has launched a 100-episode series that uses generative artificial intelligence to produce a retelling of the Indian mythological epic “Mahabharat”.

Stephan Bugaj, JioStar’s GenAI Senior Vice President of Content and Technology, told CNBC via email that the series “Mahabharat: Ek Dharmayudh” garnered 6.5 million views on its launch day, outperforming the platform average by 2.1 times.

Bugaj added that the series was never a “one-off experiment” for the platform and was the first step in exploring how AI can “expand the boundaries of storytelling.”

And not just them.

Indian production company Abundantia Entertainment is gearing up for the theatrical launch of “Chiranjeevi Hanuman – The Eternal”, which is based on the mythology around an Indian deity and described as the first god of India. Feature film created by artificial intelligence by local media.

AI artist Prasad Gori, who worked with partners Anurag Tiwari and Sagar Chogale on the project, said the series “Made in India: the Titan story”, streaming on Amazon’s MX Player, used more than 100 AI shots to recreate 1970s Mumbai.

Gori said that there has been a boom in artificial intelligence-related production jobs in the last eight months, adding that he now receives 10-15 offers for such jobs every week. Three years ago, he had to chase production companies to find work.

India’s media and entertainment market was worth $32 billion by 2025 and is growing at 9%. a faster rate than the overall economyAccording to a March report by consulting firm Ernst & Young.

Generative AI tools can create movies and content at scale at a much lower cost than traditional methods, but the real benefit is shortening production timelines, according to Neil Shah, vice president of research at Counterpoint Research.

“There is a huge demand for content in India,” Shah said in a phone interview., He added that “time to market” is a crucial element for success.

AI offers filmmakers fast turnaround times and unlocks creativity at low cost.

Manesh Muthu Swamy, co-founder and chief creative officer of Indian content production company FirstAI Consultancy, said: CNBC said its team found a new approach to crafting an animation project using artificial intelligence.

Swamy stated that the technology cannot yet produce expressions well, and said that the team first shot content using human actors and then used artificial intelligence to create animated characters based on the facial expressions of these actors.

Creating such an animation from scratch would cost several million dollars with traditional tools and take six months to a year to make, he said, but with artificial intelligence it could be done for a few hundred dollars and in a matter of weeks.

AI creators across movie studios, television networks, and content production firms told CNBC they use a wide range of generative AI tools, with Midjourney, Adobe Firefly, Kling, MiniMax, Seedance, and Google’s AI Studio frequently mentioned.

Platforms like Higgsfield are also popular because they allow creators to work with multiple productive AI tools.

Technology also lowers barriers to new entrants.

Working as an executive producer in the Tamil film industry, Sudharshan Srinivasan spent years hoping to direct his own feature film. Like many outsiders, he finds it difficult to break into an industry where access to financing, stars and distribution often depends on relationships built over decades.

Artificial intelligence gave him a new route.

“AI has made filmmaking easier for small teams who struggle to find producers or investors,” Srinivasan told CNBC, adding that if he cannot find a backer for his film in the next two years, he plans to make the film using AI and release it on a digital platform.

Indian central bank lowers growth outlook, raises inflation forecast
India’s central bank on Friday kept interest rates at 5.25% but raised its inflation forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2027 by 50 basis points to 5.1%. reduced the economy’s growth forecast for the year to 6.6% from the previously predicted 6.9%.