The use of AI in daily life is increasing across many industries, and it’s leading to some concerns about when and where it’ll show up in movies and TV shows. Ramayana is the latest movie on the 2026 release schedule to be discussed in association with AI. But, not so fast! There’s more to it, according to the film's producer. Ramayana is a historical feature because the movie has teamed up with Sony for a global push. The movie will be available on over 50,000 screens outside of India's 9,000 screens. Rather than simply playing around the world in its original language with subtitles, it’s also coming out in 40 languages, and is seeking to break the foreign barrier between audiences. The AI discussion that has come out ahead of the film is in reference to how the movie syncs the lips of the actors with the different languages spoken in each different version. When CinemaBlend spoke to the filmmakers, producer Namit Malhotra clarified what’s really going on. In his words: Each and every voice that you've heard in the film is in the performance of the actors themselves. So, there is no use of any AI at all. And so, what we've actually had is all the actors have come and spoken in English and performed to their lines. The script was rewritten in English, not as a translation, but actually as an original screenplay, because it was fundamental to the emotion and what you're delivering in terms of meaning. Ramayana is a beloved story from ancient India that has served as a foundational text in Southeast Asia for thousands of years. It’s the reason why Hindi festivals like Dussehra / Vijayadashami and Diwali are celebrated along with serving as an essential story about the concept of Dharma. With that in mind, the Ramayana filmmakers wanted to make the movie accessible to the most people possible. It's also reportedly India’s most expensive film to date, standing at around $450 million to produce. That's not including the time commitment, as the film reportedly came together over the course of a decade. (Giving it Avatar vibes.) As Malhotra clarified, the production didn’t take the easy way out. They brought in new actors to read the dialogue, and the script itself was altered to make the story flow in the language it's being watched in. It was a massive undertaking and one done with specific intent. While we were filming the performances of these actors in English, we also captured them on multiple cameras so that now we could use the power of tech to be able to stitch the lips of the actors themselves onto their own faces, which is a very unique way to try and do something. It's more expensive, more time consuming, and has more human involvement than the press of a button. And that, I think, is really where the quality and the fidelity comes from when you see it. In addition to bringing in new actors and having a different version of the script for the different languages, the producer said they also involved cameras of the actors doing the voice work and stitched the lips between the original and voice actors to bridge the gap visually. That's where the “tech” part comes in. He explained further: We are very conscious that the use of tech has to do something that can otherwise not be done in any other way. And that is what I think that Ramayana is really out here to do, is to deliver that experience. The fact that you saw it and you couldn't really take your eyes off the story and the emotion and the characters and not really be confused by any tech or the overplay of tech, because that's not what this is about. Other recent examples of AI use in our entertainment programming have come through other projects on a global scale, such as the WWE’s use of it or Netflix's use in Wonka’s Golden Ticket. The increase of artificial intelligence can cause some anger and anxiety about the future of art and what effort means in the space. In Ramayana’s case, Malhotra's explanation to CinemaBlend suggests it was used in supplement to improve a product that also required a lot of human love and care in order to bring India’s beloved epic poem to life. Plus, when you check out Ramayana in theaters, you have the option to watch the original Hindi version or see the English dubbed version (depending on what’s playing in your area of course). It’s out worldwide starting this Friday, November 5.