Apr 23, 2025 06:03 AM IST
A priest called Narasimha Murthy made a Kannada film called Love You on a limited budget and in a limited time. Here’s how.
A priest from the Siddehalli village near Bengaluru, Karnataka, has thrown a curveball at the Kannada film industry by making a film on a limited budget and limited time with no actors, musicians or crew. Narasimha Murthy used Artificial Intelligence (AI) to bring to life the story of his dreams. Here’s how he made Sandalwood’s first AI-generated film. (Also Read: Yash offers prayers at Ujjain’s Mahakaleshwar Temple, performs aarti ahead of Ramayana shoot. Watch)
Kannada film made completely with AI
Narasimha collaborated with a graphic designer turned AI technician called Nuthan to bring his vision to life. The 95-minute Kannada film has even been certified U/A by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), signalling a milestone for AI-generated films in India.
The two-member duo designed everything from the cast to the soundtrack and visuals, including drone shots. Thirty different AI tools were used to complete Love You in six months on a budget of ₹10 lakh, most of which was spent on software licensing.
How did he do it?
Narasimha spoke to TOI and stated that he wanted to make the ‘world’s first AI feature film and release it’ in theatres. His plan is to screen it on just one screen to set a record. The film has 12 original songs and AI-generated dialogues, though he contributed to the lyrics and dialogues. Despite his claim, Love You is not the world’s first AI-generated movie, with Where The Robots Grow having already been released in 2024.
Talking about how the CBFC reacted, he told them, “Even the regional censor officer pointed out inconsistencies in the characters’ features from scene to scene. Creating emotional expressions was a challenge, and lip-syncing is far from ideal.” However, the board was impressed by the ‘film’s ambition and innovation’.
Nuthan stated that AI technology was developing so fast, the current tools are far advanced than what they used, “The tools we used are already six months old. If we recreated the same film today, it would be a thousand times better.” Narasimha already has two more AI-generated projects based on Bengaluru’s founder, Kempe Gowda, and historical figure Immadi Pulikeshi in the works.
