Filmmaker Aanand Rai is extremely upset. His 2013 romantic drama Raanjhanaa, which created a stir in both critical and cinegoers’ circle, is now being given a new entirely unexpected spin which Rai had never thought of.
Yes, Dhanush’s character will live! In the original, the character Kundan had died. It is this tragic ending that made Rai’s film memorable.
“Now, I suppose everyone will go home happy with their popcorn bag emptied and no emotions ruffled,” says filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali sarcastically. Like Raanjhanaa, his Devdas is also produced by Eros International. Bhansali wonders what they might do to his magnum opus: revive the dead Devdas, perhaps just to please Shah Rukh Khan’s fans?
Aanand Rai says he is in a state of shock. “I am still trying to understand the gravity of what’s being done. How can someone else decide how to conclude my film? Imagine if Anand in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Anand lives at the end!”
Actor Kumud Mishra who played an important role in Raanjhanaa is baffled. “I don’t understand Artificial Intelligence, so I really don’t know how something like this can be done. But I suppose at the end of the day, it is business. They must be seeing some profits in this.”
Distinguished filmmaker Sudhir Mishra is aghast. “Imagine, what this gimmick would do to cinema! I think it reprehensible to meddle in the creative work of an artiste. This is cinema, not a video game. And all said and done AI is a plagiariser at the moment.”
The very talented Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, who played a pivotal part in Raanjhanaa is in a state of shock. “I am trying to understand what’s being done. I think it is a ridiculous thing to do. It will kill the soul of the film.”
Filmmaker Hansal Mehta has the last word: “Unfortunately, I don’t know the full details of this development. However, if this has been done without the consent of its creators I see it as a violation of their moral, creative and /or perhaps legal rights. It could also set an unhealthy precedent and misuse of what is a highly potent and revolutionary technological advance.”
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