Aanand L Rai slams Eros’ decision to re-release Raanjhanaa in theatres with ‘AI-powered climax’, says they are ‘butchering the film’ | Bollywood News

Aanand L Rai’s 2013 romantic drama Raanjhanaa has a loyal fan base, despite its polarizing ending. At the end of the film, Dhanush’s character Kundan dies after getting shot at a public rally orchestrated the establishment. Sonam Kapoor, who plays his love interest Zoya, is aware of the conspiracy. So does Kundan, but he obliges out of love for Zoya.
Now, 12 years later, Raanjhanaa is re-releasing in cinemas on August 1. But there’s a tw — there’s “a new ending powered Artificial Intelligence,” as marketing posters of the re-release claim. However, Aanand L Rai, who not only helmed but also co-produced the film under his banner Color Yellow Productions, wasn’t consulted the studio Eros International for this decision.
“I got to know through social media announcement a couple of days ago. People have already been messaging me asking me why that ending is being changed. I just can’t wrap my head around this,” Rai tells SCREEN exclusively. He reached out to Eros International and expressed his objection, but when they didn’t see reason, he now plans to write to them, asking them to disassociate his name from the “AI-altered film.”
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“I don’t get it, how can they do this? It’s an ending people have loved! If not the filmmaker, at least len to the audience,” says Rai. The AI-created climax is supposed to be an alternate, ‘happy’ ending, where Kundan survives. “What is a happy ending? It’s a tragedy, that’s an emotion. How can you meddle with emotions? The voice of the film lies in that ending,” adds Rai.
He also believes this move sets a dangerous, unfair precedent for filmmakers. “The only good thing that’s come out of this is I’ve learnt my lesson. I’ve to be very careful while signing the dotted line. I’m dealing with this, but other filmmakers should learn from this. A studio doesn’t care about the story. Just to earn a few crores, they’re tampering with a writer, director, and actor’s creation,” says Rai.
Eros International has sold the new print to Upswing Entertainment, a dributor in Tamil Nadu. “Maybe they’re trying to test waters in Tamil Nadu first. They’ve sold it to a dributor there and must’ve earned a few crores out of that already. But if you commit a crime in Rome, it’s still a crime! Even if you’re releasing it in Tamil Nadu, where we don’t have that much of a presence, but my actor does. And I’m responsible for what happens to his image there with my film,” argues Rai.
Rai feels Eros International doesn’t realize the long-term impact of a business move they’ve made for short-term gain. “They’ll realize it soon, when the actors and the audience will get back to them. No actors would want to work with them now. Maybe they don’t want to work with actors anymore. They plan to make films with AI only,” says Rai.Story continues below this ad

The filmmaker clarifies he’s not against the technology, but against the misuse of it. He himself is harnessing the technology to create better VFX for his next film, Tere Ishq Mein, starring Dhanush and Kriti Sanon. But he doesn’t appreciate the gross misappropriation of his craft using the technology just because the studio has the legal, financial, and technological muscle to do so.
Also Read — Aanand L Rai on Dhanush-starrer Tere Ishq Mein: ‘It is from the world of Raanjhanaa, but…’
“They say, AI is the future. Everybody knows that. But then use it for the future or for the present. Don’t use it to dort the past! If you buy a portrait an art, you can add moustache to it, if you like. But you definitely can’t resell that for commercial gain. Next thing we know, they may change the climax of Sholay (1975) keeping both Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) and Veeru (Dharmendra) alive,” says Rai.
SCREEN reached out to Eros International for a response, but the studio hasn’t responded till the time this story was published.