Filmmaker Aanand L Rai has officially confirmed that he, along with actor Dhanush, is contemplating legal action over the AI-altered re-release of their 2013 cult classic Raanjhanaa.
In a strongly worded statement, Aanand revealed that the team is seriously considering pursuing the legal route to challenge the modified version circulating online.
The creators are alarmed by the changed climax, which offers a different happy conclusion to the original tragic love story. Rai expressed serious concerns about the wider ramifications of AI's use in this context for the future of artistic integrity and creative ownership, calling it "a very dangerous precedent."
In a statement, Anand L Rai said, “I am very worried about my other films. So is Dhanush. We are actively looking at judicial remedies to restore and preserve our creative content from such extraneous interventions."
The director added that although they are actively looking into long-term legal solutions, they will first address the current controversy surrounding the unapproved AI-modified version of Ranjhanaa before moving on to more comprehensive protections for artistic content.
This comes soon after Dhanush, who played the movie's iconic Kundan, publicly denounced the modified version and expressed his disapproval of the unapproved alterations to the original story.
Taking to social media, he wrote, “The re-release of ‘Raanjhanaa’ with an AI-altered climax has completely disturbed me. This alternate ending has stripped the film of its very soul, and the concerned parties went ahead with it despite my clear objection."
In response, Eros International Media Limited asserted its position as the “sole and exclusive copyright owner” of the film, stating it holds complete rights to exhibit, adapt, and re-release the project in any format.
Meanwhile, as the controversy escalates, Aanand L Rai and Dhanush have vowed legal action, cautioning that unchecked use of AI in cinema could set a dangerous precedent and erode the sanctity of creative expression in the industry.
Meanwhile, Aanand L Rai and Dhanush are collaborating again years after Raanjhanaa, in their upcoming film Tere Ishq Mein, also starring Kriti Sanon.
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