Mumbai, Nov 9 (IANS) Director Vivek Agnihotri, who recently delivered the massive box-office debacle ‘The Bengal Files’, is reflecting on the collective failure of Bollywood as an industry.

On Sunday, the director took to his Instagram, and shared a carousel post of AI-generated art. The template of the AI-creative was the film poster from a bygone era. In the pictures, he spoke about what has “killed” Bollywood.

The post read, “Who is killing Bollywood? Cinema isn’t dying, it’s being murdered. Cast: Paid PR, paparazzi, spotting, wedding dances, brand endorsements, Insta posts”.

He then treaded into the territory of artificial intelligence and mulled over how Bollywood is handling the technology that AI offers. He wrote, “AI VS BOLLYWOOD? OTTs/studios are testing Al-generated Ramayana, mahabharat, Al films. Teenagers are hosting Al film festivals. While Bollywood makes selfies”.

He further mentioned that Bollywood stars are busy posting fake box-office numbers, walking airport ramps, and dancing at paid award shows.

He then gave a contrasting account of how Hollywood tackled the AI crisis vis-a-vis Bollywood. He went on, “When Hollywood writers faced this, they went on a 148-day strike to protect imagination itself. In Bollywood? Here, No guilds. No outrage. No debate. No worries”.

He continued, “Cinema isn’t dying. It’s being murdered. By apathy, PR, and selfies. Can cinema be softpower? India wants to lead the world. But no nation leads without leading in imagination. Al won’t replace artistes. It’ll replace the lazy. The real question isn’t ‘Will cinema survive?’ It’s, ‘Do we still remember how to dream? And, how to fight for our dreams?’”.

He wrote in the caption, “Who is killing Bollywood? What are your views?”.

The debate of AI in Bollywood has been brewing up for quite some time. But, the industry seems to be undeterred.

–IANS

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