As artificial intelligence reshapes cinema, actors confront the loss of control over identity, image, and livelihood, writes Sohaila Kapur, raising urgent questions about ethics, legality, and the survival of human creativity in an increasingly digitized entertainment industry.
Sign Of The Times: The Shrinking Screen And Changing Consumption

The digital age is bringing swift changes in the film industry. When OTT took over, the first casualty was the big screen experience in theatres. Today, that screen has shrunk further. The home screen has surrendered to your mobile. Verticals are the new rage. Everything has become smaller, shorter, simpler, to cater to the ADHD generation.

The changes are so swift that many exist simultaneously like parallel universes; eventually, one fades out, giving space to the next brand new one, for a brief while. Today, the creative minds behind those changes are becoming redundant too. Digital clones, instead of live actors, are the new tsunami that has appeared on the horizon of the ADHD generation.

A Personal Encounter With AI Casting
As I write this, I am getting persistent calls from a casting agent to sign on to something that is new and unexplored for me and therefore suspicious. I have said no but he has pursued me over the last two days to convince me of the legitimacy of the proposal. In case you have the wrong idea, this persistence relates to a digital message, a release form’ for an ad that is wanting to borrow’ my personality. My regrets were not accepted.

I asked him why he was so persistent in trying to get me to agree, when there were other fish in the sea. His excuse was that I should have refused it outright and not forwarded my profile pictures to him. It was a facetious argument because he had asked for them, like any other casting agent. That was the norm. So his argument cut no ice with me.
But I am quite polite and hesitate before refusing something outright, without hearing the other point of view. He gave it. I listened but was still unconvinced. Finally, I stopped answering his calls. I hate it if people ignore my calls and here I was doing the same thing. I suspected he was seeing his commission fly out of the window and that had made him desperate.
But it made me think…were other models/actors as suspicious as me at the idea? Or was I one of the ignorant ones who didn’t have a gen next brain or POV?

The Fine Print Of Digital Ownership
Let me explain the background. This was an ad that did not require one to audition, because the image would be generated by AI. The bait was that one would not have to give an audition and that selfies of close-ups and wide shots would suffice. It sounded like a time saver and therefore a great idea. Till I got the paperwork I insisted on. And thank god for it.
The form declared that my image generated through AI would be the exclusive property of the company. Also, the company would not be liable for damages if some change or distortion’ came over the image, which was categorized as creative work’. Meaning that creative work was allowed to have anomalies. The implication of all this was that the model had no right over her own image, which could be manipulated without her consent.

For a small fee, she would be giving away her control over her looks and personality. To be used at the discretion of the unknown `creator’.
Also, there was no actual guarantee that the image wouldn’t be used elsewhere, in another context, by someone else, despite there being a clause that said that any change in context and character would require the consent of the model. But can one sue a corporate honcho and hope to win? Specially if one didn’t have influential or powerful connections?

AI’s Expanding Role In Cinema

So this is the direction in which our film industry is now moving. AI has already stepped into the field of voiceovers and dubbing. Tomorrow it will dub for on-screen actors. The attempt to digitize an actor’s image has begun too. Without proper guarantees enforceable by law, it could be used anytime, anywhere. It will certainly make money for the production house and the artiste will be left without a job. Filmmakers who support AI in cinema recognize this possibility and that is where the buck stops. Progress is inevitable, they argue, echoing the sentiments of the business houses that will go laughing all the way to the bank.

Stars Push Back With Legal Protection
Stars have recognized the problem of digital cloning. And have taken steps to protect their interests. According to reports, Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Abhishek Bachchan, Suneil Shetty, Karan Johar, Aishwarya Rai, Kartik Aaryan and Kumar Shanu have petitioned courts seeking protection of their personality and publicity rights, that will give them legal control over the commercial use of their identity.

The judges have accepted their arguments. The cases have often resulted in court orders restraining third parties from using the stars’ attributes without their consent. In the absence of a specific law in India pertaining to this, the courts have granted those rights under Article 21 of the Constitution, which protects the right to life and personal liberty, deemed essential for human dignity.

But what about ordinary actors who are not stars? Someone like me? We may be recognized on the streets and treated like minor celebs, but can we challenge this bulldozer of a change? Can we compete with our digital selves? Somebody argued that our virtual doppelgangers would keep us young forever, whereas the real stars would eventually fade out. What good is immortality, if it will not feed us?

The New Currency: Followers And Visibility

A brand new casting creed is to judge the actor by the number of followers he or she has on Instagram. For many production houses it now no longer matters if one’s looks or performance align with the role. One with a million followers is automatically cast whether she or he is fit for the screen or not. I was `excused’ from the number crunch because senior actors are generally not considered influencer material!

In Physics, every particle has its corresponding antiparticle; in the entertainment world, every wave has an anti-wave factor. A celeb status can sometimes go against you. Ads or roles requiring homely and everyday faces have production houses forwarding PDFs asking one to sign statements declaring that one had less than 50k followers, which would make one eligible for the role! I got one such declaration, much to my amusement.

Waiting For The Next Wave
Some of us will resist this trend, till it becomes a tidal wave and wipes out the old system and us with it. But even this wave has a limited time frame and will abate. Will the receding waters expose another short-lived myth, like the lost continent of Atlantis, or perhaps something entirely new and yet unknown that crashes into our consciousness…a kind of a cultural UAP (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena)?
Would it bring new hope to us? There are as many answers as questions spinning out of our dynamic world with breakneck speed.
‘The Times, They Are A Changin’, sang Bob Dylan in the 60s. Perhaps he felt the pulse of the future.

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