<p>The steady rise and evolution of artificial intelligence (AI), which earlier created panic across film industries — also led to a 148-day long strike by the Writers Guild of America in 2023 — is now becoming more common among screenwriters. </p><p>But how are they approaching it? Do they see it as a tool to befriend, an enemy to fight, or an inevitable stage in human development that they need to adapt to? What are they doing to protect their creativity and also keep up with the changes in technology? </p><p>Deepu Sebastian Edmond, who worked as a researcher on OTT shows such as the second season of ‘Jamtara’ (2022), ‘Scoop’ (2023) and ‘IC814: The Kandahar Hijack’ (2024), uses ChatGPT as a “sounding board and discussion partner” for new ideas as well as first drafts. “It gives me useful recommendations on books that I need to read and videos that I must watch when I want to learn about a subject in depth,” he shares. He points out that it is important to be discerning while using AI because “it can also make up facts”. To guard against this, he asks ChatGPT to cite sources along with information. His training as a journalist has prepared him to think critically, examine multiple sources, and verify information instead of trusting everything that AI offers him.</p><p>When he tried using ChatGPT to write and rewrite scenes, the results were so disappointing that he decided never to go down that route again. “If you ask ChatGPT to write a scene, what it provides sounds derivative because it cannot create out of thin air. It can only give you an aggregation of what’s already out there. I want my writing to have my own stamp,” he says.</p><p>It is understandable that creators want to assert their originality. Anu Singh Choudhary, who wrote the screenplay and dialogues for ‘Mrs’ (2024), and all three seasons of the web series ‘Aarya’ (2020-2024), says that AI is “not a substitute for human creativity, life experience and emotional intelligence” but it can be “an excellent assistant” if one needs feedback on character notes, beat sheets, screenplays and dialogues on successive drafts, or research inputs with citation of sources. “If you know your craft, you can use AI to up your game as a creator. But if you are lazy with your prompts, you are bound to get trite results,” she notes.</p><p>Like other screenwriters, Anu was resistant to AI at first. Her attitude changed after Meru Gokhale, former publisher at Penguin Random House India, invited her to use Editrix, an AI-powered editing tool, for a book that Anu is working on. “My mental blocks cleared away when I tried it out for myself, and saw how it could help me expedite my work as an author. Then I tried it out even as a screenwriter,” adds Anu. Having started with ChatGPT with some basic prompts on research, fact-checking and editing, she now uses Claude and experiments with platforms like Suno, Canva and Midjourney for storyboarding and visual storytelling.</p><p>Sneha Desai, who wrote the screenplay and dialogues of ‘Laapataa Ladies’ (2024), and co-wrote the web series ‘Maharaj’ (2024), has not jumped on the AI bandwagon but wants to “educate” herself to reap its benefits. “I hear that it can be a great clerical tool. It can take the drudgery and exhaustion out of your work, and free up your time for creative tasks,” she says. </p><p>She is not scared that AI will make human beings redundant because “technology cannot bring to the table what human beings do, in terms of cultural understanding and emotional sensitivity”. But she acknowledges that work like storyboarding and writing character graphs, which is often outsourced to junior writers and ghost writers, will increasingly be done using AI. She believes that, at some point, AI will become a leveller because everybody will have access to it, and the key differentiator between one person and another will be their own creativity.</p><p>Abhinandan Gupta, who co-wrote the web series ‘Freedom at Midnight’ (2024), believes that “human endeavour has to be protected because that’s what distinguishes art from content”. He has not explored any AI tools other than ChatGPT yet. “Earlier, one used Google for research but ChatGPT is a lot better if you know how to ask pointed questions. The search results are not 100% reliable but you can get a quick snapshot and then dig deeper,” he says. According to him, AI cannot compete with the rigour of going to an archive and poring over documents on one’s own.</p><p>Generally, he asks trusted friends to read his work and give feedback but people are not always free to respond quickly, so he turns to ChatGPT. He admits that there is a lot of AI-related paranoia in the film industry because people are worried about being rendered obsolete and irrelevant, and having their jobs taken over by AI. “I don’t think that AI can replace original thought or create independently yet,” he adds, insisting that “yet” is the operative word.</p><p>“Cinema is constantly evolving, and adapting to a new technology like AI takes time. There is a lot of fear but people are getting past that and trying to understand how AI works,” says Sudeep Nigam, who co-wrote the film ‘Sherdil: The Pilibhit Saga’ (2022) and wrote the show ‘Buried Truth: The Indrani Mukerjea Story’ (2024). As a screenwriting teacher at Whistling Woods International, a Mumbai-based film school, he tells his students that AI as a tool can benefit them if they use it responsibly to enhance their work. “Indian films have borrowed heavily from Russian and European cinema, as well as Hollywood in the past. Now, some screenwriters are using AI as a shortcut in order to avoid thinking for themselves. AI is here to stay but protecting your creative voice from dying out is something that you owe yourself as a creator,” he adds.</p><p>(The author is a Mumbai-based journalist, educator and literary critic) </p>
<p>The steady rise and evolution of artificial intelligence (AI), which earlier created panic across film industries — also led to a 148-day long strike by the Writers Guild of America in 2023 — is now becoming more common among screenwriters. </p><p>But how are they approaching it? Do they see it as a tool to befriend, an enemy to fight, or an inevitable stage in human development that they need to adapt to? What are they doing to protect their creativity and also keep up with the changes in technology? </p><p>Deepu Sebastian Edmond, who worked as a researcher on OTT shows such as the second season of ‘Jamtara’ (2022), ‘Scoop’ (2023) and ‘IC814: The Kandahar Hijack’ (2024), uses ChatGPT as a “sounding board and discussion partner” for new ideas as well as first drafts. “It gives me useful recommendations on books that I need to read and videos that I must watch when I want to learn about a subject in depth,” he shares. He points out that it is important to be discerning while using AI because “it can also make up facts”. To guard against this, he asks ChatGPT to cite sources along with information. His training as a journalist has prepared him to think critically, examine multiple sources, and verify information instead of trusting everything that AI offers him.</p><p>When he tried using ChatGPT to write and rewrite scenes, the results were so disappointing that he decided never to go down that route again. “If you ask ChatGPT to write a scene, what it provides sounds derivative because it cannot create out of thin air. It can only give you an aggregation of what’s already out there. I want my writing to have my own stamp,” he says.</p><p>It is understandable that creators want to assert their originality. Anu Singh Choudhary, who wrote the screenplay and dialogues for ‘Mrs’ (2024), and all three seasons of the web series ‘Aarya’ (2020-2024), says that AI is “not a substitute for human creativity, life experience and emotional intelligence” but it can be “an excellent assistant” if one needs feedback on character notes, beat sheets, screenplays and dialogues on successive drafts, or research inputs with citation of sources. “If you know your craft, you can use AI to up your game as a creator. But if you are lazy with your prompts, you are bound to get trite results,” she notes.</p><p>Like other screenwriters, Anu was resistant to AI at first. Her attitude changed after Meru Gokhale, former publisher at Penguin Random House India, invited her to use Editrix, an AI-powered editing tool, for a book that Anu is working on. “My mental blocks cleared away when I tried it out for myself, and saw how it could help me expedite my work as an author. Then I tried it out even as a screenwriter,” adds Anu. Having started with ChatGPT with some basic prompts on research, fact-checking and editing, she now uses Claude and experiments with platforms like Suno, Canva and Midjourney for storyboarding and visual storytelling.</p><p>Sneha Desai, who wrote the screenplay and dialogues of ‘Laapataa Ladies’ (2024), and co-wrote the web series ‘Maharaj’ (2024), has not jumped on the AI bandwagon but wants to “educate” herself to reap its benefits. “I hear that it can be a great clerical tool. It can take the drudgery and exhaustion out of your work, and free up your time for creative tasks,” she says. </p><p>She is not scared that AI will make human beings redundant because “technology cannot bring to the table what human beings do, in terms of cultural understanding and emotional sensitivity”. But she acknowledges that work like storyboarding and writing character graphs, which is often outsourced to junior writers and ghost writers, will increasingly be done using AI. She believes that, at some point, AI will become a leveller because everybody will have access to it, and the key differentiator between one person and another will be their own creativity.</p><p>Abhinandan Gupta, who co-wrote the web series ‘Freedom at Midnight’ (2024), believes that “human endeavour has to be protected because that’s what distinguishes art from content”. He has not explored any AI tools other than ChatGPT yet. “Earlier, one used Google for research but ChatGPT is a lot better if you know how to ask pointed questions. The search results are not 100% reliable but you can get a quick snapshot and then dig deeper,” he says. According to him, AI cannot compete with the rigour of going to an archive and poring over documents on one’s own.</p><p>Generally, he asks trusted friends to read his work and give feedback but people are not always free to respond quickly, so he turns to ChatGPT. He admits that there is a lot of AI-related paranoia in the film industry because people are worried about being rendered obsolete and irrelevant, and having their jobs taken over by AI. “I don’t think that AI can replace original thought or create independently yet,” he adds, insisting that “yet” is the operative word.</p><p>“Cinema is constantly evolving, and adapting to a new technology like AI takes time. There is a lot of fear but people are getting past that and trying to understand how AI works,” says Sudeep Nigam, who co-wrote the film ‘Sherdil: The Pilibhit Saga’ (2022) and wrote the show ‘Buried Truth: The Indrani Mukerjea Story’ (2024). As a screenwriting teacher at Whistling Woods International, a Mumbai-based film school, he tells his students that AI as a tool can benefit them if they use it responsibly to enhance their work. “Indian films have borrowed heavily from Russian and European cinema, as well as Hollywood in the past. Now, some screenwriters are using AI as a shortcut in order to avoid thinking for themselves. AI is here to stay but protecting your creative voice from dying out is something that you owe yourself as a creator,” he adds.</p><p>(The author is a Mumbai-based journalist, educator and literary critic) </p>