India, Jan. 6 -- National Award winning director Rajesh Mapuskar is directing India's first fully AI-generated theatrical release, Chiranjeevi Hanuman: The Eternal, hitting theatres on Hanuman Jayanti this year, April 2. He says, "I feel I'm chosen for this opportunity and want to see what I can do with it. I enjoy the challenge of diving into the unknown." Asked about the difference between animation and AI, he says, "In animation, you control every movement. AI is like another brain working with you - it may not always do what you expect, but can surprise you in ways you never imagined." With many people in the industry seeing AI as a threat to human jobs, Rajesh has another opinion. "No, I don't think so it is a threat. With whatever my little experience is, AI is not going to replace human beings or reduce job opportunities. What AI is going to do is it's going to fasten the process. It's about how you approach AI, whether you are letting AI control you or you are controlling it. AI can help enhance conventional filmmaking. Even right now, my generative crew is not less than 200. I still need human power and collective efforts of people. AI is not going to be taking up any jobs," he says. In 2025, an Indian AI web series Mahabharat: Ek Dharmayudh was released, and Rajesh admits to learning from it and the response it got. He says, "When some project like this involves such an evolving technology, you have to be sensitive to the audience's feedback because who are you making this content for? So, I read all the feedback for the show and also for my teaser which came out. Those comments might give me some opening, some insight into how people saw what I have tried to create. I learn from what Mahabharat has done and how I could improve from where they were falling short. Now I'm crafting my own vision for Chiranjeevi Hanuman."...