Artificial Intelligence is no longer a distant cousin, it has entered every human sphere and its usage in filmmaking has been accelerated. It’s forcing the industry to rethink everything from production pipelines to performance capture. But amid the excitement, confusion, fear, and hype, the people at the forefront of modern visual storytelling are asking bigger questions:What should AI be used for? What should it never replace? And how do we keep cinema human in an increasingly automated world?1. “AI is a creative accelerator — not a shortcut.”Ashwin Kumar who recently released Mahavatar Narimsha and turned the direction of Indian animation feels AI is going to be a boon for the content creators at large. He says, “ Animated content is going to be dished out sooner and because the consumption and the hunger is really large especially in our country and there’s a lot to consume, AI as a tool is really going to help.” But he clarified he isn’t a fan of prompt based engineered AI. He states, “ AI as a tool to facilitate storytelling- that’s where I see it. There is going to be a stage where we will see mediocre content also but over the period of time, I think the quality is really going to be great and you will sooner than later have a lot of micro AI filmmakers who are going to change the landscape of the industry. ““ So AI is something we are looking for as it really helps us to bring our ideas sooner to the screen, so that there are more iterations and it’s all about storytelling at the end of the day. Also for the next Mahavtar films AI is going to play an integral role as a tech upgrade and using it ethically so that it becomes more of a storytelling tool than just a prompt-based engineered tool: he added.
2. “AI can work on cyborgs or non-Earth worlds.”Where Kumar sees acceleration, filmmaker and animator Ishan Shukla brings a grounded, almost philosophical caution. To him, AI cannot replicate the artistic touch that trained animators bring -especially when working with human characters, emotions, and complex cultural narratives. Ishan Shukla is the man behind Bahubali- The Eternal War- he’s taking the Bahubali’s world into animation. Talking about the scope of AI as of now he says , “ There’s some good AI out there, but it can work on cyborgs or characters which are not human or world which is not, but using it to create massive work- we still have a long way to go.” For Shukla, AI may create images, but art comes from humans.3. “You can’t put the genie back in the bottle”James Cameron is all set with his next film Avatar: Ash and Fire, talking about AI he says it is here to say during his interview with Collider, he says , “You can’t put the genie back in the bottle, but you can learn how to live with it and task it constructively and is also ethically and morally correct..”“ I don’t want to replace actors, I love actors. Maybe young filmmakers say, but actors are expensive, and I’ve got to have a million dollars to make a film- sure… Cut your teeth on that. But understand that acting flows from unique, lived human experience. And actors don’t do generic, they do individual. When we look at the stars, they’re idiosyncratic, they are very particular. And you can’t just do it in the ‘style of’ or whatever your prompt sequence is “ he adds.Cameron sees AI’s value in pre-visualisation, editing, early experimenting — places where it frees filmmakers to be bolder.Sharing his advice to young filmmakers who are starting out he says, “ Take a year and study acting, it is the wellspring of creativity”.4.AI can’t do what Cate Blanchett or Shabana Azmi can do During his conversation at Berlin Film Festival , director Shekhar Kapur who is making AI drive film Warlord described the limitations he has encountered. He mentioned that the power of collaboration with the presence of great actors is irreplaceable. He said, ” “It’s unpredictable – the unpredictability of the moment actually happens when everybody is working together. There’s an electric atmosphere that is created between, say, me and my DOP Rand, and Cate Blanchett (on the set of Elizabeth ). I don’t think AI, yet, can do what Cate Blanchett can do.”He added, “If you have Cate Blanchett or Shabana Azmi, there are variations of expressions and emotions that they bring (which are captured in a close-up). There is an interesting thing that we are looking at right now – the close-up. That’s where AI has a problem, because we don’t even scientifically understand how the pupil works. So when a great actor comes on screen, with amazing eyes – be it Cate or Shabana or Brad Pitt – something happens. A connection is formed quite subconsciously between the actor and the audience. And that’s why the close-up works so well. AI can’t do that yet.”
How AI is helping filmmakers1. Faster & richer pre-production (storyboarding, set design, concept pitching)AI generates storyboards in hours instead of days, with full colour and lighting.Provides prompts on camera types, lenses, and shot composition.Aids in set design and look development2. Cutting down shooting and post production days With AI-enhanced storyboards and planning tools, producers can save 5–8 days of shooting, which significantly reduces per-day costsAI dubbing and subtitling reduce time taken to complete the taskEditors can generate rough cuts/line-ups overnight3. Enhancing VFX, animation & de-agingAI accelerates 2D animation and VFX workflows and helps cinematographers pre-visualise lighting and colour.Used heavily for de-aging actors (e.g., Kalki 2898 AD’s young Amitabh Bachchan).Helps recreate characters The Takeaway: AI will transform Filmmaking but the heart of Cinema remains humanAcross their perspectives -optimistic, cautious, philosophical – one truth glows bright:AI is a tool. Humans are the storytellers.AI may speed up production.AI may open doors for new creators.AI may reshape workflows, budgets, and pipelines.But the soul of filmmaking- performances, emotions, lived experiences, cultural nuance -still belongs to artists.And as long as creators wield AI ethically, cinema doesn’t just survive the AI era…it evolves. Boldly. Dramatically. And more creatively than ever.
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