Actor Dhanush, who played the lead in the 2013 film, Raanjhanaa, has finally ended his silence on the AI-altered climax row, and said that it has "completely disturbed" him. Raanjhanaa was re-released in theatres recently, but the climax was changed using artificial intelligence to make it have a "happy ending".
After director Aanand L Rai, Dhanush has now slammed the producers for altering the ending of the film. In a statement issued on Sunday night, he wrote, "The re-release of Raanjhanaa with an Al-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. This is not the film I committed to 12 years ago (sic)."
He went on to say, "The use of Al to alter films or content is a deeply concerning precedent for both art and artists. It threatens the integrity of storytelling and the legacy of cinema. I sincerely hope that stricter regulations are put in place to prevent such practices in the future (sic)."
"For the love of cinema," he captioned his post.
Aanand L Rai slams producers
For those unversed, Dhanush's character dies a heartwrenching death in the climax of Raanjhanaa, but in the AI-altered version, he is shown to be opening his eyes and surviving the attack, much to the joy of his friends.
Director Aanand L Rai had earlier lashed out at producers Eros International for altering the climax of the film without his permission, but the team of Eros had later issued a statement that they mean no harm to the original film, and that the new version is only a "respectful reinterpretation".
"There’s always a reason why a story is told. What is the intention behind telling this particular story? It belongs to a genre called tragedy, which has its own flavour. The audience connects with it. You can’t simply change a story by rewriting the ending," Rai had said.
