Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur is gearing up to begin filming Masoom 2, the sequel to his directorial debut from 1983. But fans are also interested in the potential sequel to another one of his iconic films – Mr India. The filmmaker recently revealed that the film almost went on floors with a script generated by artificial intelligence (AI). (Also read: Anil Kapoor returns as Mr India, Boney Kapur hints at sequel: ‘Work-in-progress for a big screen appearance’)
Shekhar Kapur on AI
In an interview with ANI, Shekhar Kapur discussed the changing landscape of creativity in the age of AI. In a lighter moment, the celebrated filmmaker humorously recounted how his cook once claimed to have written a script for Mr India 2 using ChatGPT, the AI language model developed by OpenAI. He recalled, “One day, my cook told me he had written a script for ‘Mr. India 2’. I said, ‘Wow, that’s great! Where did you get it from?’ He said, ‘ChatGPT, sir.’ The story was very good, but I told myself, ‘You’ll need to write it better.’ So, AI provokes you to be better. If ChatGPT writes every story, then what am I for?”
On whether technology like AI stifles artistic expression, Shekhar Kapur said, “If you start depending on it, you’ll become lazy. Where does creativity come from? From fear… There are many drivers for human beings–fear, love, faith, and hope. Can you ask AI to talk about hope? It can write about hope, but it can’t hope itself.” Emphasizing the importance of human emotion in storytelling, Kapur added, “AI cannot fall in love, and to be creative, you have to fall in love. You have to feel pain, not just describe pain.”
All about Mr India 2
Mr India, released in 1987, was a sci-fi adventure starring Anil Kapoor, Sridevi, and Amrish Puri. The film follows a mild-mannered common man who transforms into a titular superhero after acquiring a watch that turns him invisible. The film was a box office success, grossing ₹10 crore in its initial run. A sequel was first announced in 2011 with the original cast slated to return. However, production never began. After Sridevi’s death in 2017, it was speculated that the script may be changed. However, there has been no development in the matter. In June 2018, at the 19th IIFA Awards, Anil Kapoor admitted that Sridevi’s death and the absence of Puri (who died in January 2005), affected the production.