6-month labour of love: Karnataka temple priest creates ‘world’s 1st AI-generated film’

BENGALURU: On most days, Narasimha Murthy serves as a priest at Hanumantharaya Temple in Sidedahalli village, near Peenya. But his true passion lies in filmmaking. After directing two feature films, Murthy has now created what he claims is the world's first AI-generated feature film, in Kannada. It has already been certified by the Central Board of Film Certification.
"I wanted to make the world's first AI feature film and release it. To begin with, I'll be screening it on just one screen to set the record," Murthy, who took on the roles of both producer and director, told TOI. Apart from him, the only other human involved in the project was Nuthan, a graphic artist-turned-AI technician.
"We licensed around 30 AI tools and software for the film, and the total cost of the licence came to approximately Rs 10 lakh," Murthy said. It took about six months to complete the 95-minute film, which also features 12 songs. However, the duo acknowledged that the fast-paced evolution of AI tech can quickly render tools outdated.
"I won't claim the film is perfect as we worked within certain limitations," Murthy admitted. "Even the regional censor officer pointed out inconsistencies in the characters' features from scene to scene. Creating emotional expressions was a challenge, and the lip-syncing is far from ideal."
"If we recreated the same film today, it would be a thousand times better. That's no exaggeration, as AI tech is evolving every day. The tools we used are already six months old," said Nuthan, who believes the time required to make AI-generated films is shrinking. "I was a graphic designer and ad filmmaker, and AI was completely new to me. It was all trial and error, and it took us six months. But give me a script now and I can deliver a film in two months," he added.
Murthy and Nuthan are now working on two historical AI films, one based on Kempe Gowda and the other on Immadi Pulikeshi. The former is expected to be completed within two months.
Meanwhile, the characters of the world's first AI-generated film await their box office fate. The lead characters, Nuthan and Ashwini, along with their voices, were entirely created using AI. However, Murthy wrote all the dialogues and lyrics for the film.