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AI is revolutionizing the most prolific film industry in the world
Welcome to the new look movie set. The cacophony created by cameras, clapperboards, and shouted instructions has been replaced with the quiet hum from a coding room. Collective Artists Network is a leading talent agency that represents Bollywood's A-listers. It has been facilitating the careers of superstars for many years. It's now engineering digital ones. The Bengaluru facility uses artificial intelligence to create content that is based on Hindu mythology, a genre popular in India. In a movie based on a religious text called "Ramayana," there is a scene where the god Hanuman is seen flying with a mountain in his arms. The show "Mahabharat" is based on another ancient epic. It features a scene depicting princess Gandhari who blindfolded her eyes when she married a blind king. India is the country that produces most movies, and its stars like Shah Rukh Khan or?Amitabh?Bachchan have cult followings. Many?industry participants say that changing audience habits and the growth of streaming are impacting production budgets. Ormax Media, a consulting firm, says that moviegoers will drop to 832 millions in 2025 compared to 1.03 billion people in 2019. Box-office sales last year?hit an all-time high of $1.4 billion, but revenue has been choppy and dependent on a few hits and more expensive tickets since the pandemic. To view this story on.com go to India's studios are deploying AI on a massive scale, releasing films in multiple languages and even recutting the endings of old titles in order to increase sales. They are also reshaping filmmaking economics by reducing production timelines and utilizing AI to improve efficiency. Rahul Regulapati is the head of Collective's AI Studio, Galleri5. How about production time? He said, "down to a quarter." Hollywood has taken a different approach, with union contracts and concerns about job loss limiting studios' adoption of AI. Google, Microsoft, and Nvidia are making early bets in India by partnering local filmmakers. At least one major production company is reviewing its entire catalog for AI rereleases. In previous reporting, we have explored the ways in which Indian filmmakers harness AI and India's divergence from Hollywood. The first report to detail the extent of India's film industries?reorganization around AI, and the economics that are driving this shift. This story includes interviews with 25 people, including directors and studio heads. American and British studios are experimenting with AI filmmaking. They will produce the first full-length AI animation features in 2024, and an AI powered immersive version of 'The Wizard of Oz' last year. Dominic Lees said that India's film-makers' ambitions are at a?different level. He is a researcher in AI and film at the University of Reading, Britain. He said that if India can meet the demands, it will become a leader in AI filmmaking. India's pivot towards AI is a reflection of its embracement of technology in general. India bet last year that embracing AI would create enough opportunities to offset any short-term disruption. According to an analysis by EY, AI could increase revenue for Indian media and entertainment companies by 10% while reducing costs by 15% in the medium term. Vikram malhotra, the founder of Abundantia Entertainment told reporters that Abundantia Entertainment is building their AI capability from scratch. The Bollywood production house recently announced an investment of $11 million in a studio for AI. NEW ENDINGS FOR OLD DRAMAS India's Eros Media World released "Raanjhanaa" with an AI-altered version last year. The film replaced the tragic ending in which the protagonist dies with a happier conclusion where the lover smiles through tears when he opens his eyes. Rewrites drew criticism. Dhanush, Dhanush is the name of the actor who plays the main role. He said on X, that the AI remake "stripped away the film's very soul." It also set a "deeply worrying precedent for artists and art." The re-released "Raanjhanaa", however, still attracted audiences. PVR Inox India's biggest cinema chain reported that 35% of tickets for the Tamil-language version were sold in August, the month when the film was released. This was 12 percentage points more than the average for 2025. Eros has gone further. Pradeep Dwivedi is the group CEO and he said that Eros was reviewing its 3,000 titles catalog to "identify candidates for AI-assisted adaption." Last year, Eros' Indian unit Eros International warned about "competition by digital platforms," as its annual consolidated revenue from operations dropped 44%. Dwivedi explained that the AI rewrites are both a revenue-generating opportunity and a strategy for creative renewal. Hollywood would have to deal with such changes. A deal with the U.S. actors union SAGAFTRA prohibits studios from digitally altering an actor's performance, or creating a digital copy without informed consent. The Directors Guild of America contract prohibits studios from relying on AI to make creative decisions without consulting directors and forbids AI from performing the work of their members. Indian studios are experimenting aggressively with AI in Hindu mythology tales. This is big business for a country that has millions of devotees. Collective plans eight AI-generated titles focusing on deities like Hanuman and Krishna. JioStar is a joint venture media company between Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Media and Walt Disney. It airs an AI-generated version of the Hindu epic “Mahabharat” – the first episode series that emerged from Collective’s cinematic AI laboratory. JioStar said that the AI version of the story about a dynastic battle between princes, which was released in October on the streaming platform by JioStar, has attracted 26.5 million viewers since its release. A previous TV adaptation attracted 200 million viewers from 1988 to 1990. However, the show has been met with a mixed reception by audiences. IMDb gives "Mahabharat", a 1.4-star rating. Some reviewers cite lip-syncing issues, while others say that some scenes are low-quality and lack authenticity because of unnatural styling. Alok Jain is a senior executive with JioStar. He stated that the response has been "a mixture of appreciation and healthy discussion, which is normal for any ambitious creative step." JioStar also plans to make original stories using AI. Some film industry figures have expressed concern about the use of AI. Jonathan Taplin, a writer and producer from the United States who has worked for Hollywood studios, says that the use of AI to create feature films is an "affront to all of cinema's history." He said, "It'll fill your screens and cinemas with formula slop." AI DUBBING The acceptance of AI may be easier to achieve through dubbing. India has 22 official languages, and there are hundreds of dialects. Dubbing is essential to make a movie a blockbuster in India. AI is now beginning to solve the problem of mismatched lip movements, a complaint that audiences have had for years. Subhabrata Debnath, the co-founder of NeuralGarage in Bengaluru, a startup that offers dubbing services to top studios such as Yash Raj Films and other major studios, demonstrated a clip showing an AI-generated English character. Subhabrata Debnath then added a German audio track and the character spoke fluent German within minutes. Debnath explained that the technology preserved "the performance, the identity and the speaking styles of the person", while modifying the face to look natural. Last year, NeuralGarage AI technology was used to translate Yashraj's Hindi film "War 2" from the Hindi language into Telugu of south India. The production house did not respond to any questions. The Red Carpet meets the RED MAJORS Tech giants around the world are also interested in getting a piece. Google partnered in August with Bollywood director Shakun Bhatra to produce a 5-part cinematic'series' using Veo 3 video generation and Flow AI to experiment with AI powered filmmaking. Mira Lane is Google's Vice President of Technology and Society. She said that AI can also help independent artists create complex sequences which "might be otherwise out of reach because of budget or logistical limitations." Microsoft has been working on a collaboration with Collective, and it said that Microsoft would be providing AI computing power in order to "shape" the next wave of global story-telling through such collaborations. Collective uses a hybrid approach of digital animation and physical recording to bypass the limitations of text prompts. The actors wear motion-capture suits equipped with sensors to capture body movements in 3D, while their smartphones record facial expressions. This data is then fed into the AI pipeline to allow for more nuanced control of the AI generated characters. The ripples go beyond the studio. Festivals dedicated to AI-generated shorts have proliferated around the world, including in Los Angeles, Cannes and Barcelona. India's first event took place at Mumbai's Royal Opera House in November, when young storytellers and a robot walked down the red carpet. In February, Nvidia was on stage in New Delhi with the second edition of India’s AI Film Festival. Pradeep Gupta told the audience that Nvidia is working on reducing computing costs to allow anyone "to create something substantial" without spending a lot of cash. Anurag Kashyap is a Bollywood Director who expressed concern about the use of AI and its growth in India. He reluctantly acknowledged the economic benefits of studios deploying the technology. In India, cinema doesn't revolve around art. "It's just business. Studios will use it to create mythologicals," Kashyap stated of AI. "Our audience loves it."
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Vietnam's Q1 growth slows due to Middle East energy testing 2026.
Data showed that the economy of Vietnam slowed down in the first three months compared to the previous three months. This was due to a 'heavy exposure' to Middle Eastern oil imports, which boosted inflation, making it difficult for the country reach its annual growth goal, officials said. The National Statistics Office reported that the gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 7.83% from January to the end of March compared with the same period last year, but fell below the 8.46% growth rate in the fourth quarter. The NSO said on Saturday that "the pressure from rising energy and input prices remains, posing a challenge for economic governance." It said that consumer prices increased by 4.65% on an annual basis in March, due to a 10.81% increase in transport costs. This was a significant acceleration from the 3.35% rise in February. The Southeast Asian economy is facing pressure to meet its growth target for this year of at least 10%. This is because it imports over 80% of its crude oil from the Middle East where the Iran War, which has now entered its sixth week of conflict, has disrupted supplies. Nguyen Th Huong, Director of the NSO, said: "Vietnam's socio-economic condition continues to face challenges, and meeting 2026 growth targets remains a major challenge." The rising?fuel price has prompted Vietnamese airlines to cut back on operations, and the government to try to reduce costs. This includes reducing taxes, subsidising fuel prices, and encouraging remote working to reduce consumption. The growth rate was higher than the 7.5% annual expansion in the first quarter 2025. The report stated that exports increased 20.1% to $46.44 Billion in March from a year ago. The report said that March industrial production increased 6.9% compared to a year ago, but was slower than the growth of 8.6% during the same month last year. Petrolimex, a leading fuel retailer in Vietnam has reported that the war has caused gasoline and diesel prices to increase by 21% and 84% respectively. Senior officials have sought alternative oil suppliers from Gulf states, Japan and South Korea. Vietnam's imports in March rose by 27.8%, to $47.11 Billion. This represents a trade deficit of 670 M$. Exports grew 19.1% in the first quarter to $122,93 billion while imports grew 27.0% to $126.57 billion. This led to a $3.64 billion deficit. Retail sales increased 10.9% in the third quarter. The NSO reported that foreign investment inflows for the first quarter of this year rose by 9.1% compared to the same period last year, to $5.41 Billion. Meanwhile, pledges, which are indicative of future inflows grew 42.9%, to $15.2 Billion. Pham 'Minh Chinh, the Prime Minister, said that Vietnam would maintain its 10% growth target despite current challenges. He promised to take steps like?increased public investment, diversification of supply chains and export markets, and greater public investments. Chinh said at a cabinet session that "Our country faces many limitations, shortcomings and challenges, as well as risks and difficulties related to macroeconomic management, energy security and the pressures of managing it." (Reporting and editing by William Mallard, Clarence Fernandez and Khanh Vu)
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Lucid misses its first-quarter vehicle deliveries estimates due to supplier disruptions
Lucid 'Group missed Friday its expectations for the first quarter vehicle deliveries, hurt by an unauthorized supplier and a temporary sales halt. The company was unable to meet the demand for its luxury electric SUV Lucid Gravity during the third quarter because of a quality issue with the second-row seat. The company reported that it delivered 3,093 vehicles in the March 31st quarter. Visible Alpha analysts had predicted Lucid would produce 5,967 cars and deliver 5,237. Lucid's Chief Executive Marc Winterhoff said that deliveries were especially affected in February when they paused for a few minutes to "reverse the changes and inspect already produced vehicles." Lucid recalled 4,476 'Gravity SUVs' built between December 2024 and February 2020 earlier this week due to seatbelt welds not meeting safety standards. The shortfall highlights the gap between Lucid's ability to produce cars and its production capacity, which has plagued Lucid as well as other EV startups when demand falls. Winterhoff acknowledged that supply challenges are still a concern. The company's forecast to?produce 25,000?to 27,000? vehicles this year was conservative, suggesting a growth of up to 50%. It maintained this forecast on Friday. By 2025, the production will have nearly doubled. Lucid has also been battling a chip shortage, uncertain supplies and an October fire at an aluminum supplier.
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NYT: Musk wants SpaceX IPO banks buying Grok AI subscriptions
The New York Times reported that Elon Musk was requiring banks and advisers who are working on 'SpaceX's IPO to buy subscriptions to Grok, Elon Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot. The report stated that some banks had agreed to spend up to tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars per year on the chatbot, and they have already begun integrating it with their IT systems. This week, it was reported that Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup are the active bookrunners or 'lead banks' managing a deal. Musk and SpaceX have not responded to requests for comment. JPMorgan Chase declined to comment. Goldman Sachs also declined. Citigroup, Bank of America and Citigroup did not respond. Morgan Stanley did not respond immediately to our queries. Bloomberg News reported a day before that the Starbase rocket maker in Texas had boosted its target valuation for an initial public offering above $2 trillion. This could be the largest stock market listing ever. The company hopes to raise $75 billion, which is a record amount. This would be a far cry from previous mega-IPOs like 'Saudi Aramco 2019 or Alibaba 2014'. (Reporting and editing by Bill Berkrot, Mark Porter, and Savyata Mihsra from Bengaluru)
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Afghanistan earthquake 5.9 causes eight deaths
The National Disaster Management Authority reported that eight people died and one child was injured when a house in Kabul collapsed following the earthquake in Afghanistan. The German Research Centre for Geosciences, GFZ, reported that an earthquake measuring?5.9 magnitude struck Afghanistan's Hindu Kush on Friday. GFZ said that the quake was at a depth 177 km (110 mi). Witnesses reported feeling strong tremors in the Indian capital New Delhi and Kabul, Afghanistan's capital. Afghanistan is surrounded by rugged mountains and therefore prone to natural disasters. The most deadly are its earthquakes, which kill?about 560 people a year on average. The 6.3-magnitude earthquake that struck the country in November killed at least 27 people and destroyed hundreds of homes. Mohammad Yunus 'Yawar, reporting from Kabul; Akanksha 'Kushi, writing in Bengaluru; Kanjyik 'Ghosh, in Barcelona; Kevin Liffey and Emelia Sithole Matarise editing.
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Emirates Global Aluminium estimates that full recovery of production from the attack could take up to a year
The UAE-based company Emirates Global Aluminium said that it could take up to a full year to fully restore primary aluminium production in its Al Taweelah Smelter, which was damaged by an Iranian attack late last month. In a press release, Al Taweelah said that the facilities were evacuated to the fullest extent and put into emergency shutdown following the attacks of March 28 on the Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi. EGA stated that to resume operations, it must repair the infrastructure and restore each reduction?cell. Early indications suggest that it could take up to a year for the primary aluminium industry to fully recover. PARTICULAR OPERATIONS EGA stated that the Al Taweelah refining plant, which produces alumina (the raw ingredient of aluminium), and the Al Taweelah Recycling Plant could restart some production sooner, "depending?on?the final?assessment of the site damages". The conflict in the Middle East has caused the price of aluminum to rise the most in almost two years. Benchmark three-month aluminum on the London Metal Exchange rose?10.4% in the last month, and reached its highest level in almost four years -- $3,546.50 a metric ton -- on March 12. The London Metal Exchange's benchmark three-month aluminium reached its highest level in nearly four years - $3,546.50 per metric ton - on March 12. Al Taweelah Aluminium Smelter of EGA will produce 1.6 million tonnes of cast metal in 2025. Al Taweelah is also home to an alumina refinery, which produced 2.4 millions tons of aluminium last year. Hatem Maher (Reporting) Tomasz Janovski and Barbara Lewis (Editing)
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Meloni, Italy's Meloni, visits Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE amid Gulf tensions and energy concerns
A government official confirmed that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia meloni traveled to Saudi Arabia on Friday for a previously undisclosed trip. The trip will include meetings in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and other countries. Officials said that the two-day trip was to show support for Gulf countries facing Iranian attacks, and also to protect Italy's energy supply. This is the first visit by an EU leader to Saudi Arabia since the conflict that was started by the United States and Israel in February. It also comes at a moment when there are growing concerns about the security of the?oil & gas 'flows. Qatari liquefied gas covered about 10% of Italy’s total gas consumption before the war. Middle East oil made up around 12% last year of Italy’s total oil imports. Italy received a notification last week that its Gulf supplier would be halting LNG deliveries due to the near-closure?of the Strait?of Hormuz. They will not ship 10 cargoes?between?April and?mid June. QatarEnergy CEO and State Minister for Energy Affairs, QatarEnergy, told?that Iranian attacks had also crippled 17% of Qatar’s LNG export capability. Last month, QatarEnergy's?CEO and state minister for energy affairs told?ajungiaparatulletzten??letztenbackbackééletzten Two sources with knowledge of the situation said on Thursday that Italy would begin to receive liquefied natural gas (LNG), from the Golden Pass LNG facility in the United States, from June. (Reporting and writing by Giuseppe Fonte, Crispian Balmer and Gavin Jones).
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FAO: If the Iran war continues, food prices will continue to rise around the world
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reported on Friday that world food prices rose in March, reaching their highest level since last September. They could rise even more if the Middle East conflict continues to push up energy costs. In a recent statement, FAO Chief Economicist Maximo Toreros said that the price rises have been modest. They are mainly due to higher oil prices. He said that if a conflict continues for more than 40 days, and input costs are high, farmers can reduce their inputs, plant fewer crops, or switch to less intensive fertiliser crops. He added that "these choices will impact future yields, and shape our food supplies and commodity prices throughout the remainder of this year and the following years." FAO Food Price Index (which measures changes in global traded food commodities) rose 2.4% over its revised February level. The index is now 1% higher than it was a year ago. However, the value of the index has dropped by nearly 20% from its March 2022 high, which occurred after the beginning of the Ukraine war. Fertilizer costs could lead to reduced planting The index of cereal prices increased by 1.5% compared to the previous month. This was mainly due to a 4.3% rise in international wheat due to deteriorating crop prospects in America and lower plantings expected in Australia because of higher fertiliser costs. The global maize price edged upwards as the?ample supply of maize in the world offset concerns about fertiliser prices and indirect support from higher ethanol demand prospects related to higher energy costs. Due to the timing of harvest and weaker import demand, rice prices fell 3.0%. Vegetable oil price increases are now at 5.1% for the third month in a row. The higher quotations for palm, soya, sunflower and rapeseed oils reflected the impact on rising global energy costs and expectations of stronger demand. Palm oil prices have reached their highest levels since mid-2022. Sugar prices?jumped 7.2% to their highest level since October 2025 in March, due to higher crude oil prices. Brazil, the largest sugar exporter in the world, is expected use more sugarcane for ethanol production. The price of meat increased by 1.0% in Brazil and Europe, with pig prices rising in the EU. In a separate document, the FAO raised slightly its estimate of the global cereal production forecast for 2025 to a record 3,036 billion metric tonnes. This would mean a 5.8% increase year-on-year. (Reporting and editing by Tomasz Janowski and Barbara Lewis.)
Commodities ignore Trump's noise and focus on fundamentals of trade: Russell
The best way to navigate the challenges that the U.S. president Donald Trump's inconsistent and erratic trade policies are posing for the global commodity markets is to ignore the noise and concentrate on the fundamentals.
While the media focuses on every headline-grabbing announcement or social media post regarding new and retaliatory duties from the U.S. president and his administration the commodity markets continue to do what they have done in the past: adapt to rapidly changing conditions.
It's important to distinguish between commodities that are already affected by Trump's policies and those likely to be impacted in the future. There may also be those who will not suffer direct effects, but could feel indirect effects due to a slower world economy.
Steel and aluminum are included in the first group, with Trump's 25% tariffs now on all metal imports.
Steel and aluminum prices are likely to rise in the United States as domestic producers cannot increase production significantly.
The tariffs will be imposed on the consumers, who are likely to see the price of metals sourced from the United States increase as the local producers match the prices of imports.
It is possible, in the long term, that U.S. producers of aluminium and steel will either increase their capacity and output or that foreign producers may build plants in the United States.
If this is the case, it will depend on how companies view the tariffs and whether the U.S. economic situation is strong enough to justify the investment.
Tariffs may cause some trade flow reordering for countries that do not sell metals to the United States. However, the greater risk is a global economic slowdown due to the reduction of trade, inflation, and competitive advantage.
Trump is targeting crude oil and the copper industry, but from different perspectives.
Trump has said he plans to impose a tariff on imports of copper, which is causing inventories to move from Asia and Europe into the United States. This in turn increases the price for U.S. Copper relative to other benchmarks around the world.
This is a simple arbitrage game that will likely end as soon as the tariffs go into effect or not depending on what Trump decides.
The global copper market will likely be relatively stable this year, as the Chinese economy is expected to have a greater impact, being the largest importer and producer of the metal in the world.
MILITARY METALS
One example of ignoring the noise and looking at the fundamentals is Trump's reported plans to build metals refinery facilities on U.S. Military bases in order to secure a supply of vital minerals.
Trump is right to be concerned about China's control of much of the sourcing, processing, and distribution of minerals that are critical, including metals like copper, lithium, and cobalt as well as other minor metals, such as tungsten, and rare earths.
It is not clear if building refineries on military bases is the best solution.
Trump's actions do not seem to increase U.S. resources.
Trump's bullying tactics and tariffs against friends and enemies alike have ruined the reputation and image of the United States.
Anthony Albanese, Australia's Prime Minister, urged Australians to purchase local goods rather than U.S. products in response to Trump's tariffs.
Albanese, in a radio broadcast on Thursday, said: "Buy Bundy instead of some American products... You can make an impact." Albanese was referring to the famous domestic rum.
Australia has large reserves of many critical minerals. However, with Trump's treatment of the country as an enemy in trade it is becoming increasingly difficult to find cooperation for investment into developing mines and processing.
Crude oil may also be affected by Trump’s policies but from a geopolitical perspective rather than tariffs.
Prices will rise if Trump uses sanctions to reduce Iran's crude oil exports to zero.
If he is able to achieve a deal for peace in Ukraine, this will likely be at Russia's terms, and may result in a easing of sanctions that could boost supply.
If the trade war escalates, there is also a risk that U.S. oil exports will be included in retaliatory duties. This would force a reordering of global flow.
The United States, the largest LNG shipper in the world, is at risk of getting caught up in trade wars. This has already begun with China's tariffs which will likely end Beijing's purchase of U.S. goods.
Gold has quietly benefited from Trump's actions. Its price has risen to new highs, as investors look for a safe-haven.
The fact that Trump hasn't mentioned gold in his list of tariff targets is important. Much of the current rise of precious metals, which is about 15%, since November's election win to Wednesday's closing price of $2,932.06 per ounce is due to U.S. investor buying.
Metals Focus reports that from December to February, 600 metric tonnes of gold were transferred into CME-approved vaults. This has led to a tightening of the physical supply of gold in Asia, which is the region with highest demand.
Gold is in some ways the poster child of how commodities should respond to Trump. Don't over-analyze the situation. Assess it, and act accordingly.
These are the views of a columnist who writes for.
(source: Reuters)