AI takes centre stage in entertainment; Indian studios gear up with dedicated divisions

AI in films

Another top Indian content studio has opened a new division where artificial intelligence will script a new chapter in entertainment.

After Abundantia Entertainment, known for movies like Toilet and series like Breathe, opened a new AI division called aiOn, director Nikhil Advani who has directed and produced movies and series including Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Kal Ho Na Ho and Freedom At Midnight, among others, has launched a new subsidiary for his company.

Emmay Entertainment and Motion Pictures, the production banner led by Advani along with Madhu Bhojwani, and Monisha Advani recently announced the launch of Emmayzing Creations LLP, a new subsidiary which will produce content that integrates AI to achieve cost-effective and visually immersive storytelling.

Through the new subsidiary, Emmay Entertainment is expanding into new media, hyper-short formats, and technology-aided content creation and production.

Why are studios like Abundantia and Emmay using AI?

In a recent interview with Moneycontrol, Abundantia Entertainment's Founder Vikram Malhotra said that AI is useful in driving large volumes of content in a short time and at a lesser cost.

"It's cost efficient. It's time efficient. It allows you to produce more at scale," he had said.

Rahul Regulapati, Founder of Galleri5, elaborated on this. "After the research and development, we can create 1-2 episodes a week. Compare this with any big series for instance Game of Thrones or any other similar big content, these are multi year projects. AI is cutting down time from years to months to weeks. It is cutting down time massively," he told Moneycontrol.

Galleri5, is part of Collective Artists Network, a new-age media company which is making big moves in content creation using AI including the first AI generated series called Mahabharat, an AI band called Trilok and a couple of AI avatars/personalities.

Projects which spanned two years now can be completed in 2 months or even in two weeks.

The cost is also less. "Cost is 1/10th of what it takes to make content in the traditional way," Regulapati said.

Abundantia's Malhotra expects AI to drive revenues. According to him, the new AI division will contribute 10-12% to the company's total revenue in the first year. "By year 3, I see that number jumping to about 30-35%."

Are audiences watching AI-generated content?

Makers are testing waters with AI -generated content. Initial responses to some have been mixed.

For instance, the AI-powered series Mahabharat on Jio star recorded over 6.5 million video views and 2.1 times higher reach than the platform average, according to data shared by the streaming platform. It is the biggest opening day for a long-running show on the platform.

However, on social media viewers have criticised content generated using AI, saying it lacks consistency and connection. Many say that AI is far from replacing human creativity.

Will makers make more AI-led content?

Studios and filmmakers continue their efforts to perfect the use of AI in filmmaking. What started with two minute videos as micro dramas have now extended to series and by next year there will be a full length feature film for the big screen.

Galleri5’s Regulapati has three films and 4-5 show launches in the pipeline. He expects 30-50 AI enabled shows coming in the next 1-2 years.

He also noted that there is high interest from streaming platforms for such content.

“Streaming platforms are showing interest to get AI-led content,” he said.

JioStar had also said that the strong viewership for Mahabharat is a milestone that reflects on the platform’s commitment to shaping the next era of entertainment, where machine intelligence empowers human creativity shaping the next leap in storytelling innovation.

How are makers generating AI-led content?

There are a host of AI tools for video generation which are driving content generation.

There are open source tools but then there are different tools for specialization.

Top tools for AI filmmaking include Sora, Higgsfield, Midjourney, Nano Banana, Gemini's AI image generator and photo editor and Runway.

Regulapati said that for them it's not just a prompt on any video tool to create content.

“Character consistency is challenging. We have created a workflow of characters, costumes and this helps bring coherence. We have taken how physical production happens and taken it to digital. So, it is not just a prompt on Veo3.

He added, “Depending on the complexity of the scene, there are different tools used. We have customised tools for our requirements. We have done physical shoots to train on models.”

An Avatar movie-like cinematic experience is what Regulapati wants to achieve but only using AI.