Hindi
Prakash Jha forced to succumb on ‘Aarakshan’
NEW DELHI: Forced to succumb in the face of threats and bans from several parts of the country, filmmaker Prakash Jha today made certain changes in the film following allegations that his film was anti-Dalit or has questioned the reservation policy.
Asked about this, Jha said in a telephonic conversation with indiantelevision.com: ‘I am in firefighting mode – cannot talk now. But can anyone show a thought-provoking film in this country without being forced to make changes?‘
While the Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh Governments have already placed bans on the release of the film, controversies have also erupted in the Maharashtra and Bihar assemblies.
The Andhra Government, in its order, said that the film may hurt sentiments of weaker sections. It also said that the exhibition of the film can “lead to protests and agitations, leading to breach of the peace and tranquility in the State. “
Hence the court has directed the suspension of “the exhibition of the Hindi film Aarakshan initially for a period of one week or till a final decision is taken on the report of the Committee constituted for the purpose, whichever is earlier “.
The National Commission for Scheduled Castes had said yesterday that Jha ‘s film should only be released after some changes are made. The Commission, which saw the film, objected to the “derogatory way” the backward community has been represented in the film. The Commission asked the Central Board for Film Certification to review necessary changes in the film before its Friday release.
But NCSC Chairman P L Punia had admitted to indiantelevision.com that the NCSC could not go any further than requesting the CBFC to make cuts. It was now up to the Board to take a decision, and ‘we are not going to fight.
He said: “The main theme of the movie is about commercialisation of education followed by several objectionable dialogues against people from backward communities. There is no discussion on reservation in its second half.”
A nine-member team of the CBFC which included Dalit members had given a U/A certificate to the film without any cuts, but the Commission had summoned CBFC Chairperson Leela Samson and demanded a special screening of the movie.
Bollywood actor Bachchan, who has played a stellar role in the film, has expressed his dismay over the ongoing protests surrounding the film. He said the way creative freedom is being curbed one might be living in a “most unfortunate fascist conditioning.”
Bachchan, who has been cautious about his views on reservation, is unhappy with the politics surrounding the movie‘s release tomorrow. He said creative people should get to display their creativity, irrespective of any political pressure.
“An artist, a creative person does not further the cause of politics. He or she furthers the cause of creative expression. If creative expression is to be curbed by institutes that wish to dictate their terms and conditions above the conditions of the legal recognised constitutional formats, democratically accepted and converted into law by the highest authorities of legality, then we might as well accept that we live not in the sanctity of the tenets of democracy but a most unfortunate fascist conditioning,” Bachchan wrote on his blog.
Bachchan said it was high time that film fraternity stood up to protect its interests.
“Why doesn‘t the film fraternity of India and more so of Mumbai, have a force or body that stands up and protects its own under attack on occasion from groups that take objection to the very spirit of the freedom of expression, inscribed so prominently and decisively in our revered Constitution,” Bachchan said.
“Why whenever we are at the stage of bringing our heads above the cacophony of the world with its myriad issues, to perhaps simply breathe, do forces that seek resentment attempt to strangulate us,” he added
Hindi
Jio Studios unveils AI-powered Krishna teaser at NAB Show 2026
Global first look of Krishna uses Galleri5 AI pipeline on Azure, Historyverse slate as Jio’s Dhurandhar crosses Rs 3,000cr worldwide.
MUMBAI: Krishna has just dropped a divine teaser and this time the gods are powered by silicon, not just scripture. Jio Studios and Collective Studios’ Historyverse stole the spotlight at the NAB Show 2026 in Las Vegas with the world’s first teaser for their upcoming theatrical feature Krishna, directed by Manu Anand. The big reveal happened during Microsoft’s keynote “Powering Intelligent Media, From AI Experimentation to Real-World Impact,” where the film’s AI-native production pipeline took centre stage alongside Collective Artists Network’s in-house platform, Galleri5.
At the heart of this mythological spectacle lies a fresh cinematic workflow built by Galleri5 on Microsoft Azure’s advanced AI and cloud infrastructure. Forget bolting AI onto traditional VFX or animation, this is an end-to-end, production-grade system woven into every layer: world-building, character creation, shot design and final output. Yet the storytelling remains firmly director-led, emphasising emotional depth, stillness, music and performance rather than pure spectacle. The result? Large-format theatrical cinema rooted in Indian history and culture, but conceived in ways that were simply not possible before.
Collective Artists Network runs Galleri5 natively on Azure, leveraging Microsoft Foundry and cutting-edge AI tools to handle film, episodic and advertising workflows in a secure enterprise environment. Microsoft highlighted Collective as a “Frontier” organisation successfully moving AI from pilot projects to real production-scale deployment in cinema. The technology is also on display at Microsoft’s NAB booth in the West Hall (Booth W1731).
Jio Studios (Media & Content Business, Reliance Industries), president Jyoti Deshpande said the project advances the studio’s mission to take Indian stories global with scale, ambition and authenticity, “With Krishna, we are embracing cutting-edge AI-led filmmaking while democratising these tools to make them more accessible, intuitive and cost-effective for storytellers everywhere.”
Collective Artists Network founder & group CEO Vijay Subramaniam added, “We’re using technology developed in India to carry our culture and history to audiences worldwide at a scale never seen before.”
Microsoft, vice president for telco media & entertainment, gaming Silvia Candiani noted that the media industry has reached an inflection point, “AI is no longer about experimentation but delivering real impact at production scale… By building AI-native creative systems on Microsoft Azure, Collective exemplifies how storytellers can unlock new formats, move faster and realise a true return on intelligence while keeping human creativity at the centre.”
Krishna forms part of Historyverse, Collective Studios’ ambitious slate of history and culture-driven IPs. The slate draws from iconic figures and traditions that shaped the Indian subcontinent, including stories inspired by Kali, Karna and Durga. It builds on the already-released Mahabharat: Ek Dharmayudh series, showing how ancient narratives can be reimagined for modern screens.
Jio Studios, India’s leading content studio and the media and content arm of Reliance Industries, continues its blockbuster run. The studio’s Dhurandhar franchise led by Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar: The Revenge has become the first Indian film series to cross Rs 3,000 crore worldwide. It also delivered three consecutive years of India’s highest-grossing Hindi films: Stree 2 (2024), Dhurandhar (2025) and Dhurandhar: The Revenge (2026). In just eight years, Jio Studios has assembled a library of over 160 films and series, with more than 60 titles winning over 500 awards. Other notable successes include Laapataa Ladies (India’s official Oscar entry 2025), Stree, Article 370, Shaitaan and Mrs.
The NAB unveiling marks another step in Jio Studios and Collective’s push to blend Indian storytelling talent with frontier technology proving that the future of cinema may well be both ancient in spirit and thoroughly modern in execution. For audiences who love epic tales with a fresh twist, Krishna promises to deliver divine drama, this time with a little help from the cloud.
