New Delhi, Jan. 23 -- On 3 January, the trailer for Vijay's Jana Nayagan dropped. Amidst the fan adulation, especially feverish since this is Vijay's last film before he turns to politics, a number of viewers spotted something amiss at the 23-second mark, a shot of Vijay with a rifle. In the lower right corner of the screen was a watermark of Google Gemini, an AI tool. The watermark has since been removed and it remains unclear how AI was used to enhance the trailer, or the final film, which is stuck in an ongoing battle with the censor board. Yet, its very presence speaks to the rapid rise of AI in Indian filmmaking over the last couple of years and the uncertainty around how it's being used.

There are wildly varying opinions on AI in f...