iWorld
Eros Investments collaborates with IIT Bombay to develop AI-based script generating tool Kurosawa
Mumbai: Global media, entertainment and technology portfolio of ventures Eros Investments has announced a strategic collaboration with IIT Bombay to design and develop an AI-based tool for automatic script generation.
Named Kurosawa, after the celebrated Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa, the software will assist film makers in developing the plot and script of movies by generating a full-length feature film script. IIT Bombay will also create a whitepaper on Kurosawa for academic and research purposes.
The teams from IIT Bombay and Eros have been collaborating on Kurosawa for over a year. Kurosawa will help identify the right genre, output logline, and synopsis and deliver a potentially hit script that can be customized further as required. In the current phase, Kurosawa can generate multiple engaging plots and scenes basis single input. For example, it can create genre-specific movie plots, basic genre(s) and a short 2-3 sentence prompt. It can also create scenes in a standard screenplay format basis a brief description.
Automatic Movie Script Generation is a subfield of Natural Language Generation (NLG). The machine can learn plot and scene generation from the pre-existing data with minimum human intervention.
Eros Investments director Swaneet Singh said, ” This association between Eros Investments and IIT Bombay is an excellent example of the amalgamation of the left and right brain. Kurosawa is a pioneering and cutting-edge technology that will revolutionize the entertainment sector. The tool will enable scriptwriters to focus on creativity and quality while doing the groundwork for them. This innovation marks a new milestone for Eros Investments that will be used as a case study in the future.”
IIT Bombay dean of research and development Prof. Milind Atrey, added, “Kurosawa will be a huge opportunity to transform the art of storytelling with proficiency and improve efficiency for content creators. We welcome collaboration with Eros investments, led by Prof. Pushpak Bhattacharyya from IIT Bombay, to provide automation to the process of scripting in the entertainment industry. As the outcome of the research, IIT Bombay will also be jointly launching a white paper on Kurosawa that will be used for academic and research purposes, further supporting the upcoming generation looking to make a mark in the industry.”
Kurosawa is based on the latest deep learning and natural language processing technologies. It is led by Prof. Pushpak Bhattacharyya, known for his artificial intelligence and machine learning expertise, and an internationally renowned research group. He is a professor in the computer science and engineering department at IIT Bombay and is a Fellow of the National Academy of Engineering (2015) and Abdul Kalam National Fellow (2020). Prof. Bhattacharyya is supported in this project by the students from IIT Bombay who are a part of the curriculum.
iWorld
X launches XChat messaging app on iOS with calls and encryption
Standalone app marks shift from “everything app” vision, adds E2E messaging.
MUMBAI: From one big app to many small chats, X seems to be splitting its ambitions. X has rolled out its standalone messaging app, XChat, to iOS users, opening up a new front in its evolving product strategy. The app allows users to connect with existing X contacts through private and group messages, file sharing, as well as audio and video calls. The launch follows a limited beta phase, where the platform tested the product with a smaller user base to refine the experience. Now available publicly, XChat marks a notable pivot from earlier ambitions championed by Elon Musk to turn X into a single “everything app” combining messaging, payments, commerce and more.
Instead, the company under xAI ownership and backed by SpaceX appears to be building a suite of standalone applications, each targeting specific use cases while expanding its broader ecosystem.
At launch, XChat includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, PIN-based access, disappearing messages, and features such as message editing, deletion for all participants, and screenshot blocking. The company has also said the app is free from advertisements and tracking mechanisms, positioning it as a privacy-first alternative in a crowded messaging space.
However, security claims around the platform are likely to face scrutiny. Earlier iterations of XChat drew criticism from experts who argued it fell short of established encrypted platforms like Signal. With the wider rollout, the app is expected to undergo fresh evaluation to assess whether those concerns have been addressed.
Beyond messaging, XChat will also house X’s Communities feature, which is being discontinued on the main platform due to low usage and spam concerns. Migrating these users could provide an early boost to adoption, effectively turning XChat into both a communication and community hub.
The move underscores a broader recalibration at X less about cramming everything into one app, and more about spreading bets across multiple touchpoints, one message at a time.
