Shekhar Kapur says AI will slash filmmaking costs; calls it a democratic technology for creativity

Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur on Tuesday said artificial intelligence will dramatically lower the cost of filmmaking and open doors for a new generation of storytellers.The director, known for critical and commercial hits such as "Masoom", "Mr India" and "Bandit Queen", said he has already begun using AI in his own work."In filmmaking, it will bring a lot of new filmmakers in because the cost of filmmaking is going to come crashing down with AI. That's what's going to happen," Kapur told PTI on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam here.The director described AI as a "democratic technology" that could transform not just cinema, but India's broader economic and creative landscape. "I think that India will add a trillion dollars a year to its GDP with AI. It is the most democratic technology to hit us... It goes right down the pyramid to those that really need it."AI can do everything but what it can't do is be intuitive. And therefore, people who haven't had the opportunity to go and study in big institutions or even to study things, they have now AI to supplement all that and overcome and they can be intuitive and innovative. Intuition and innovation cannot belong to AI. It belongs to human beings," Kapur said.