3 weeks Ago
Narasimha Murthy, a Bengaluru priest, has solely produced and directed "Love You", the first full-length Kannada film made entirely with AI. Narasimha Murthy, a local priest from Bengaluru’s Siddehalli village, stunned the film industry with a creation that may go down in cinematic history for years to come. Murthy, a temple priest at the Hanumantharai Temple by day and a filmmaker by heart, has claimed to have directed the world’s first full-length Kannada feature film created entirely using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Titled Love You , the 95-minute film has secured a U/A certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), a formal stamp of legitimacy on a project that defies every conventional filmmaking standard. Produced and directed solely by Murthy, the film’s entire cast, soundtrack, voices, and even background visuals were generated using nearly 30 different AI tools and software platforms. The effort, which took 6 months and a budget of Rs 10 lakh, mostly spent on software licensing, signals a tectonic shift in low-budget, high-tech filmmaking in regional cinema.
Murthy was joined by Nuthan, a graphic designer-turned-AI technician, who collaborated with him to build every digital frame of the film. Despite their limited team size of just two people, the film features an ensemble of AI-generated characters, 12 original songs, and even drone-like cinematography, all executed without a traditional film crew. “It’s not perfect," Murthy admitted in a candid conversation with The Times of India.
“I won’t claim the film is perfect as we worked within certain limitations," Murthy told TOI, adding, “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." “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, the sole producer and director of the AI film, reportedly said. Nuthan echoed his sentiments, emphasising how rapidly AI tools are evolving. “The tools we used are already six months old," she said, adding, “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." Despite its technological limitations, Love You has managed to impress even the CBFC, whose panel reportedly watched the film out of curiousity and left the screening appreciating its innovation. The movie’s production methods have triggered widespread interest in the Kannada film community, and beyond.
This isn’t Murthy’s first brush with filmmaking – he has previously directed two feature films. But Love You marks a departure from traditional sets and star casts. Everything, from the hero and heroine to the music and dialogues, has been crafted through AI.
However, the human touch remains in the writing. Murthy personally penned all the dialogues and lyrics, preserving some creative authenticity amidst the digital production. The filmmaker-priest isn’t stopping here as he is already at work on two more AI-generated features – one based on Kempe Gowda, the founder of Bengaluru, and the other on the historical figure Immadi Pulikeshi.
The first of these is slated for completion within two months. For an industry still discovering the balance between artistry and automation, Murthy’s endeavour stands as a bold experiment. Whether or not Love You becomes a box office sensation, it has already carved its place in the annals of cinema – as a grassroots, homegrown response to the global AI wave now sweeping through entertainment.
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