From Aarya to aastha, Ram Madhvani hopes to script a blockbuster in virtual reality with the Gita

The latest know-how like artificial intelligence (AI)is shaking up the movie business—from rewriting climaxes of released films to reimagining the battlefield of Kurukshetra—through a tech-first lens.

What started two years ago has picked up pace in the last six months with AI advancements, said ad and filmmaker Ram Madhvani, who is making short films on mythology, starting with the Bhagavad Gita.

The five-minute short film on the Gita is a VR or virtual reality endeavour, with the headsets serving as a 360-degree screen.

New cinema

"It is a new form of cinema because it is beyond a phone, a TV or the big screen. We have been at it for about two years. It was only in the last six months, because AI started actually developing so much, that we were able to get the courage to make the film. Otherwise, I was going to shoot it (referring to the conventional method of filmmaking). We have used AI for the entire film. AI made it around 50 percent cheaper and faster than in a traditional shooting method. Now, the idea is to make 24 films and 100 short films in the next three years," he told Moneycontrol.

He admitted that the use of VR headsets in India has been limited but expects the newer content to boost their use.

"People don't know what to do with virtual reality (headsets). Currently, people who have it have put it on a shelf. People are using it sometimes for gaming, they have tried to use it for IPL (watching matches of the Indian Premier League, the Twenty20 cricket tournament), but it didn't work. And I thought we should use it for storytelling of our kind, especially for divine stories," said Madhvani.

VR realm in temples

Madhvani plans to distribute VR sets to temples and cultural centres. "We will be tying up with temples to let people experience custom-made stories of 5-10 minutes of that particular temple. I am also exploring cultural sites like the Ajanta and Ellora caves. These short films are not edutainment or documentary. This is pure storytelling to show the love story behind the creation of the Taj Mahal or how the Red Fort was built or to see the miracles of Sai Baba. These stories will also be interactive. If you are in Ram Mandir then people will be able to pull a bow or light a diya."

While the content is in place, the devices will take some time, he said. "The headsets will be ready by next year, if not earlier, because conversations have started and they are going faster than I thought. We hope that in a year or two the headsets will become available in retail stores like Croma."

The spiritual stories on VR headsets will be available for the price of a pooja thali (prayer plate). "If people are waiting in a queue they can then go to a room on the side and know the story of Tirupati," said Madhvani. "The youth is one big section that we expect purchases from. And also families, because they feel that this technology will allow the youth to actually get to know our stories and also tell stories from our past for the future."

According to estimates, India's top temples record 3,917 lakh devotees visiting every year, and that's the market Madhvani is looking to tap. From the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi seeing 840 lakh visitors to 200 lakh at Sabarimala in Kerala, spiritual tourism is booming, led by young tourists and family travel.

Fresh content

Madhvani's new AI-VR venture is part of a startup, Equinox Virtual, even as he continues his work in the advertising and the entertainment world.

"We have two series that we are writing and two feature films. Now, I have to get it out there and start the process, especially seeing the excitement in the industry and with the scenario changing suddenly in the last three months for theatres," he said.

He added that they have just finished the series The Waking of a Nation for SonyLIV. "During the Covid period, we had our busiest time ever. We made all three Aaryas (referring to the three seasons of the Hindi series Aarya). Two days after we finished shooting Aarya season one, there was a lockdown. We also did the Dhamaka movie starring Kartik Aaryan for Netflix. In the last five years, we have done more work than what we did since Neerja (the 2016 Hindi movie which won two National Film Awards) until Covid," Madhvani said.