September 19, 2026, (Inside AI) — Filmmaker Meghna Gulzar has issued a blunt challenge to the prevailing narrative that artificial intelligence will upend creative industries, declaring that cinema will never be replaced by machines because AI lacks the one thing that cannot be synthesized: human instinct.
Speaking at a public conversation alongside actors Kareena Kapoor Khan and Prithviraj Sukumaran to discuss their upcoming film Daayra, Gulzar dismissed the idea that generative tools could supplant filmmakers. "I believe that AI will never replace 'HI' -- human instinct, human intelligence," she said. "It is merely a tool. At the end of it, it is emotionless. So after a point, it's going to start doing the wrong things when you have run out of prompts."
Her remarks arrive as AI video generation tools from companies like OpenAI, Google, and Runway improve rapidly, prompting anxiety across film and television about job displacement and likeness rights.
Gulzar, known for directing Talvar, Raazi, and Sam Bahadur, positioned herself as a traditionalist. She compared AI to earlier disruptions like television and streaming, arguing that cinema survived those transitions and will survive this one too.
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Sukumaran offered a more pragmatic view. "I don't think you can fight artificial intelligence. We'll have to adapt to it," he said. "But in the broader picture, it's going to ultimately give more value to original ideas and humane elements in stories."
Kapoor Khan was the most cautious of the three, focusing on present-day harms rather than future creative questions. "Right now, as a woman, the only thing I can see is the way it's being used online negatively. That is very disturbing," she said.
Her comment points to a growing body of evidence about AI-generated deepfakes and non-consensual imagery targeting women. India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has issued advisories to platforms about synthetic media, though enforcement remains uneven.
The trio's divergent responses mirror a broader split in the entertainment industry. Some studios have embraced AI for de-aging, background generation, and dubbing. Others have pushed for contractual protections. The Screen Actors Guild strike in 2023 secured consent requirements for digital replicas, but those rules apply only to U.S. union productions.
Gulzar's filmmaking method itself stands as a counterargument to automated creation. Sukumaran described her process in detail. She shoots entire scenes on a phone at the location before principal photography, edits them, and uses screen grabs as storyboards. "She is easily one of the most, if not the most, academic, judicious filmmaker I have worked with," he said. "I don't know if I can pick a filmmaker who is more prepared than Meghna."
That level of preparation, he noted, is what allows spontaneity on set. The technique resembles a practice some AI researchers call pre-visualization, though Gulzar executes it manually.
On the question of licensing their likenesses for AI generation, none of the three expressed interest. Gulzar called herself "old school and a purist." Kapoor Khan said she did not know how she felt. Sukumaran framed adaptation as inevitable but not as surrender.
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The conversation also touched on Daayra's portrayal of crime. Gulzar said she deliberately crafted a sequence to unsettle male viewers. "I was clear I wanted to make men uncomfortable when they saw that," she said, adding that male editors on her team would want to leave the room during long sessions on that scene.
Sukumaran said the film refuses to take sides between its two protagonists, a police investigator and an accused man. "If we have been successful in making the film we wanted, then you won't be able to pick a side easily," he said. "That is what crime, punishment and the deliverance of justice is about today."
Kapoor Khan, who plays the investigator Ajooni, described the role as a departure from the uniformed female police officers Hindi cinema typically depicts. Gulzar said she wrote the character as a special investigator specifically so she would not wear a uniform.
The actors also discussed set culture. Gulzar said women bring organizational discipline. "Women are more organised. So when there are more women on set, it runs like a well-oiled machine," she said. Kapoor Khan added that multitasking is second nature to women in the industry.
Sukumaran, who juggles Malayalam and Hindi productions, praised Malayalam cinema's informal structure. He noted that big-budget Malayalam films costing Rs 100-120 crore still operate without the layered agency and manager systems common in Mumbai.
On the future of AI in film, the three left the question open. Gulzar wants her next project to be lighter. Kapoor Khan said she has no retirement plans. Sukumaran said he follows whatever story interests him next, regardless of language or format.
Their exchange underscores a tension the industry has yet to resolve. Tools will keep improving. The question is whether filmmakers and audiences treat them as assistants or replacements.
