Written by Tanisha Cardozo || Team Allycaral
The sixth day of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2025 delivered one of the festival’s most forward-looking conversations through its masterclass titled “The New AI Cinema: A Discourse on Generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs)”. The session brought together eminent voices from technology and cinema, including technologist Shankar Ramakrishnan, AI expert V. Muralitharan, and internationally celebrated filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, who led an engaging and visionary dialogue on how rapidly developing artificial intelligence tools are reshaping the art and craft of filmmaking.
The session opened with Ravi Kottarakara honouring Shekhar Kapur for his pioneering impact on Indian cinema, highlighting his innovative approach to storytelling and his enduring influence with films like Mr. India, still celebrated for its technical brilliance and cultural legacy. Kapur reflected on the profound shift unfolding across the world with the rise of AI, describing it as the most democratic medium ever introduced to filmmaking. He emphasised that AI has dissolved long-standing barriers, giving unprecedented creative access to individuals who previously had limited pathways into the industry. Illustrating this point, he shared an anecdote about his cook who used ChatGPT to create a script for Mr. India 2, demonstrating how transformative and inclusive AI-powered creativity has become.
Kapur expressed confidence that India, home to the world’s largest youth population, is poised to take a leading role in shaping the future of film technology. He also clarified the difference between traditional VFX and AI-driven processes, noting that while VFX involves crafting or modifying visuals digitally, AI leverages machine-learning models to automate, enhance, or even generate creative elements, fundamentally shifting the way films can be conceived and executed.
Technologists Shankar Ramakrishnan and V. Muralitharan expanded the conversation by demonstrating how modern AI tools such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini assist filmmakers across multiple stages of production, from scripting and storyboarding to generating detailed shot descriptions including lighting, camera angles, and visual dynamics. They showcased their AI-enhanced project The Turban and The Rock, written by Raja Rao, explaining how various AI platforms were integrated seamlessly into its creation.
The interactive Q&A session that followed encouraged deeper conversations about the larger possibilities of AI in cinema. The panellists highlighted how emerging technologies can support documentary production, archival restoration, film education, and creative ideation. Audiences were given a glimpse into the future through the screening of an AI-generated short documentary titled The Lost Legends, which demonstrated the growing sophistication of AI-driven visual storytelling.
Despite the enthusiasm surrounding technological advancement, Shekhar Kapur grounded the discussion by reminding the audience that cinema’s true heart lies in human emotion. He emphasised that while AI can accelerate processes and expand creative possibilities, it is ultimately the human artist who breathes life, meaning, and emotional depth into a film.
The session concluded with a touching tribute to legendary actor Dharmendra, honouring his immense contribution to Indian cinema and reminding attendees that while the tools of filmmaking may evolve, the soul of the art remains in the stories and performances that connect deeply with audiences.
