Stories
Rajkumar Hirani: "Make Friends with AI" to Reshape Creativity, Not Replace It
- •Filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani used AI for Bajaj's 100-year corporate film, creating a realistic Gandhi and integrating non-professional actors through performance transfer.
- •Hirani views AI as an unstoppable technological shift, comparable to the internet boom, that creative industries must embrace rather than resist.
- •He believes AI's true potential lies in enabling the execution of ambitious ideas previously limited by cost or technical challenges, expanding creative boundaries.
- •Hirani emphasizes that content and storytelling remain paramount, as audiences ultimately care about the story, not the production methods.
- •He advises creators to use AI to enhance imagination and achieve what was once impossible, rather than as a shortcut for creative thinking.
Key Questions Answered
The film is titled 'Kathni Karni Ek si', which commemorates the Bajaj Group's 100-year journey by reimagining the historic bond between Mahatma Gandhi and founder Jamnalal Bajaj. Crafted entirely using artificial intelligence, the narrative features members of the Bajaj family and explores whether the values championed a century ago still live on.
To prevent the project from looking gimmicky, Hirani explored a performance transfer technique. Professional actors generated the performances, which were subsequently transferred onto the faces of the Bajaj family members and archival imagery of Mahatma Gandhi to create realistic digital avatars.
Hirani views AI as an unstoppable force and the biggest disruption of the century, comparing it to the 1990s internet boom. Rather than resisting or treating it as a shortcut for cost reduction, he believes creators should learn to work with it to expand creative ambition and execute ideas previously deemed technically impractical.
