In India, Bollywood Studios Will Release a Film Fully Generated by AI Next Summer

In the absence of regulation, the Indian film industry is wholeheartedly embracing artificial intelligence to reduce the production costs of its feature films. The first 100% AI film, adapted from a novel, is currently in the final stages.

Published on April 16, 2026 at 11:58, with a reading time of 4 minutes.

Khushwant Singh, the author of the novel “Maharaja in Denims,” adapted for the big screen with AI, in his residence in Chandigarh on April 16, 2026. (TAUSEEF MUSTAFA / AFP)

The sets, direction, and even the actors… the film “Maharaja in Denims” has been entirely generated by artificial intelligence (AI) and is set to be the first of its kind coming out of Bollywood studios by the end of the summer. In contrast to its more regulated American counterpart, the highly prolific Indian film industry (producing over 2,000 films per year) has enthusiastically embraced AI, with several feature film projects.

Two of them, “Chiranjeevi Hanuman: The Eternal” and “Love You,” were in a close competition but never made it to the big screen. Therefore, “Maharaja in Denims” is expected to win the prize in this new category. Based on the successful novel by Khushwant Singh, published in 2014, the film is produced by Intelliflicks studios, co-founded in Chandigarh (North India) in 2023 by the author and Gurdeep Singh Pall, a former vice president of Microsoft.

“Gurdeep wanted to prove that it was possible to make a feature film using AI tools,” explains the writer in an interview with AFP. “He wanted to try with my book, and that’s how Intelliflicks came about.” His best-seller tells the story of a privileged teenager from Chandigarh who believes he is the reincarnation of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire in the 19th century, and a victim of the violence that targeted this community in 1984 after the assassination of Indira Gandhi.

Traditionally, these epic tales require a considerable budget. AI has enabled a tenfold cost reduction. “Filmmakers had estimated the cost of the film to be over 500 million rupees (4.65 million euros) in a traditional format. We should finish it for about 40 to 50 million rupees,” rejoices Khushwant Singh. “No actor fees, no delays or disruptions in filming … no set issues: everything relies on the creativity of the human mind and the machine,” he emphasizes.

The only deviation from the computer reign is that the film’s music was composed and performed by humans. The main title is sung by Sukhwinder Singh, who lent his voice to the soundtrack of “Slumdog Millionaire,” the film that won eight Oscars. In India, “people watch the music more than they listen to it, so it’s better,” justifies the author. Even though the machine has eliminated many material constraints, the “filming,” entrusted to a tiny team of barely six people, was not without challenges.

Initially, because current AI tools are not well trained to replicate Indian faces. “It would have been much easier to make a Western,” observes the director, “if we had anticipated these difficulties, we would have chosen a different scenario…” Also, the constant developments in AI tools forced him to regularly modify his editing.

“Technology is constantly evolving,” sighs Khushwant Singh. “You are always tempted to switch to the latest evolution because what you shot before doesn’t look as appealing or interesting anymore.” Originally planned to be completed by the end of 2025, the film is now expected to be released to the public in August or September. “I can now confidently say that we’ve managed to master the AI filmmaking technique,” exults the writer.

One of the very first of its kind, which he is convinced will not only revolutionize but also democratize the global film industry. “Given the extremely rapid progress of technology, an 18-year-old sitting in his village will soon be able to compete with the major studios,” predicts Khushwant Singh, “competition will come from all over the world.”