At the Los Angeles premiere of Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, director Nitesh Tiwari set the record straight on how artificial intelligence is being used in the film. The technology, he said, is not replacing any actor’s voice; it is only helping match lip movements when dubbed dialogue switches languages.
What the director said
Speaking to press at the David Geffen Theatre at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on October 27, Tiwari dismissed reports that AI was dubbing the film into different languages. “As far as AI is concerned, it’s only being used to lip sync,” he said.
All the voices are dubbed by the artists. AI has only been used to get the lip movement right, so that the audience can enjoy it in their native language.
He added that no AI has been used in dubbing, and every voice is performed by a real artist. The clarification comes at a time when cinema is debating how AI could affect dubbing artists around the world.
Why the distinction matters
That is bigger than a technical footnote. Indian films travel in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and more, and audiences notice when a character’s mouth does not match the dialogue. AI-assisted lip-sync solves that visual gap without generating a performance.
At the same time, voice artists have been watching AI dubbing experiments closely. Tiwari’s comment is an effort to assure both artists and fans that the performances in every language remain human, while the technology only improves how natural the film feels.
The Ramayana moment
Yash, who co-produces the film and plays Ravana, used the premiere to talk about the epic’s journey. “We are proud to present this story to the world,” he said, adding that the story has travelled for thousands of years and carries a message about India’s culture and heritage.
The film is a two-part adaptation of the Indian epic, headlined by Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana, with Sunny Deol as Hanuman and Ravi Dubey as Lakshman. Music is by Hans Zimmer and AR Rahman, with Namit Malhotra producing.
What comes next
The first part of Ramayana opens in theatres on November 5, 2026. The lip-sync approach means audiences around the world can watch the epic in their preferred language, with human voices carrying the emotion underneath.
- Premiere: October 27 at the Academy Museum’s David Geffen Theatre, Los Angeles
- Release: November 5, 2026, for the first part
- Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi, Yash, Sunny Deol, Ravi Dubey
Source: Hindustan Times