 "AI, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, NEWSROOM")
Even as the media and entertainment industry has used select aspects of artificial intelligence (AI) for giving a fillip to scripts and visuals, production houses and streaming platforms are now increasingly tapping into creating full series and films through AI.
In October, JioHotstar released an AI-powered series, Mahabharat: Ek Dharmayudh in collaboration with Collective Artists Network. Meanwhile, Balaji Telefilms is already producing full-fledged shows with AI for its OTT platform, Kutingg.
On the other hand, content firm Abundantia Entertainment recently announced the launch of a new division called Abundantia aiON, which will leverage AI to integrate imagination with intelligence to create films, series, characters, and worlds. It will combine creative talent with AI platforms and tools across ideation, world-building, visual development, and production.
Similarly, Dashverse, a microdrama platform, plans to launch 100 micro-dramas produced by AI in the coming months, driven by lower costs of production and time.
“As AI unlocks imagination and reduces development and production time, one direct benefit will be its positive impact on cost,” said Vikram Malhotra, founder and chief executive officer (CEO), Abundantia Entertainment.
Abundantia Entertainment, which has produced films like Baby, Airlift, Toilet – Ek Prem Katha and Shakuntala Devi, among others, expected around 30-35 per cent of its revenue to come from work generated fully by Abundantia aiON or supported by Abundantia aiON.
Through its partnership with Collective Artists Network, it will produce Chiranjeevi Hanuman – The Eternal, a made-in-AI feature film, set to release in theatres in 2026.
Malhotra added that on an aggregate level, AI can help reduce over 50 per cent in terms of production costs and time reduction, though this can vary across various projects.
Meanwhile, Dipankar Mukherjee, CEO and cofounder, Studio Blo, a full-stack generative AI (Gen AI) content studio, said that the cost advantage between AI and traditional shoot or VFX ranges from 60 per cent to 200 per cent.
“There is significant internal pressure on leadership teams to ‘do AI’ and compress content costs. In the last six months, this has created unrealistic expectations, with marketers assuming AI equals instant production, low budgets, and infinite personalisation,” Mukherjee said.
He added that what the industry is seeing right now is a short-lived phase of templatised, low-craft AI content. It looks cheap and fatigues audiences quickly.
Studio Blo is co-producing filmmaker Shekhar Kapur's WARLORD, an international science fiction series completely made with AI. Other projects include co-producing an AI-generated animated feature, an AI animated series, and a hybrid AI and live-action feature with three prominent film studios.
“The year is year-zero for GenAI content, with most companies experimenting with third-party creators, artistes and studios. Even large content companies that have announced an AI-first content strategy are essentially outsourcing the AI production to other artists and studios, including ours. 2026 is when every media business, including brands, agencies, and content companies, will invest significant money to build internal capacities, workflows, and tech stacks based on their learnings from this year,” Mukherjee added.
Meanwhile, JioHotstar observed that its first AI-powered entertainment series, Mahabharat: Ek Dharmayudh, saw over 6.5 million views, with 2.1 times higher reach than its average for other series. Its release further stated that Mahabharat: Ek Dharmayudh recorded the biggest opening day for a long-running show on the platform.
Given the potential and new growth opportunities in this segment, Abundantia Entertainment is open to partnering tech firms that have AI capability but also understand the process of filmmaking. Currently, a lot of technology companies are evaluating entry into entertainment, Mukherjee highlighted. He anticipates that in the near future, several graphics processing unit (GPU)-driven co-production deals could come up.
He said, “Since then, Mahabharat: Ek Dharmayudh has become one of the largest shows on the platform with 26.5 million video views, continuing to captivate audiences week after week,” JioHotstar said in an email response. He added, “The process of creating an AI-powered series redefines traditional production. It brings together the strengths of human creativity, storytelling, and direction with the efficiency and scale of technology. While the process involves a stronger upfront investment in data and visual model development, it also allows faster iteration and creative experimentation, expanding the possibilities of how stories can be imagined and told.”
