SS Rajamouli's Varanasi (and AI debate)

 SS Rajamouli Garu’s next mega film Varanasi had its trailer launch at a huge event called Globe Trotter. Around fifty thousand people packed the venue, and the place was full of industry stars. Priyanka Chopra Jonas even flew in from the U.S., leaving her Citadel world behind for a day, just for this.

Crores were spent, an entire army of technicians was pulled together, and the team tried to make the event as massive as possible. But the whole thing started falling apart before it even began. Someone, an absolute genius, recorded the tech-rehearsal teaser and leaked it online like it was some prank. After that, the team got scared and skipped the final technical run-through. That decision backfired. The actual event kept getting hit with glitches, the trailer wouldn’t play smoothly, and the momentum died. Rajamouli Garu came on stage frustrated, said a few things, including some religious remarks, which I’m not going to comment on. That’s his personal belief.

The trailer finally went live on YouTube, and that’s where Round Two started. the backlash escalated beyond simple criticism, a lot of viewers felt the trailer didn’t match Rajamouli’s usual standard. Many said the execution was weak. But here’s the part that actually caught my attention, some people started saying “AI se bana diya” (the trailer “looks like AI.”)

Rajamouli said in his speech that it’s CGI-heavy and hundreds of people worked day and night on it. But some viewers didn’t care. They  (Anti AI Brigade) kept repeating “AI se bana diya.” What they completely missed was the concept, the framing, the ideas, the intention behind the visuals. “AI” is being thrown around like an insult now, as if saying something is made with AI reduces its value. That’s a lazy way to judge anything.

And here’s the twist, if a CGI trailer made with crores of rupees and human effort still gets mistaken for AI, that’s actually a compliment to the people who see the future in AI. It proves AI has reached a point where the line between CGI and AI is blurring. Maybe CGI needs to evolve faster, because viewers clearly can’t tell what’s what anymore.

The truth is simple, Yes, what the trailer shows could have been made with AI. And very soon, AI will be so advanced that it’ll deliver visuals that leave people stunned. The irony is that the people trying to mock the trailer by calling it “AI-made” are the same ones accidentally advertising how strong AI has become. They’re admitting, without realising it, that AI can achieve this level of detail.

Rajamouli didn’t trick anyone. Whether he uses CGI, AI, or live shooting, his job is to show something new. And if it were really that easy, all the critics screaming “AI se bana diya” would be making these shots themselves.

At the end of the day, the medium doesn’t matter. If the concept is strong and the visuals speak, that’s what counts. The story should communicate what the creator wants to say. That’s it.

I do feel bad for the technical collapse and for someone like Priyanka Chopra flying all the way to witness an event that turned into a mess. But one thing is absolutely clear,  AI is here to stay.

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- Viveck Tewari