Aanand L Rai On Dhanush And Sonam Kapoor's Reaction To Raanjhanaa's Altered Ending: ‘Nobody Approves Of This'

News18

5 days ago

Aanand L Rai slams Raanjhanaa's AI-altered ending, says neither Dhanush nor Sonam Kapoor approved the change. He plans to remove his name from the new version.
Filmmaker Aanand L Rai has been openly expressing his displeasure over Eros International's decision to revise the ending of his cult classic Raanjhanaa with the help of AI. Now, the director, in a recent conversation, shared the reaction of the film's leads, Sonam Kapoor and Dhanush, to this news.
While speaking to Times Now, Rai shared, 'Nobody approves of this. Who would like it, and why? A character that has already been established—it takes years to truly live a story. An actor invests a major part of their life into it, and you suddenly want to change it? How is that even possible?"
'There's always a reason why a story is told. What is the intention behind telling this particular story? It belongs to a genre called tragedy, which has its own flavour. The audience connects with it. You can't simply change a story by rewriting the ending. An actor brings layers of emotions to a character, which actually gives weight to the genre. You can't just say, 'Let's change the ending, now no one dies, and everyone lives happily.' That's not how stories are told," he further continued and added.
Rai has already raised his objections with Eros over the AI-created alternate ending in the re-release, making it clear he did not approve of the change. However, since the studio has neither agreed nor acted on his concerns, he now plans to send a formal letter demanding his name be removed from the AI-altered version.
In the original ending of Raanjhanaa, Dhanush's character, Kundan, dies. But in the AI-modified version, the story takes a different path, with Kundan surviving and the film concluding on a happier note.
For the unversed, Aanand L Rai has previously collaborated with Dhanush in Atrangi Re. They are working on their third film together, Tere Ishk Mein, with Kriti Sanon.
Why did Eros alter the ending of Raanjhanaa?
In a statement to PTI, the company's Group CEO, Pradeep Dwivedi, said, 'This is a creative reimagining, not a replacement, and is consistent with global industry practices, including anniversary editions, alternate cuts, and modernised remasters. We categorically reject Mr. Rai's allegations, which are not only factually incorrect but also legally unfounded. The re-release is a respectful reinterpretation and not a 'tampering' of the original. It is clearly positioned as an alternate, AI-enhanced version—akin to classic cuts or re-edits seen globally."
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