An AI-native film studio founder claims one person can now make a 'Game of Thrones'-scale film in 10 days. Bollywood is embracing AI as a lifeline to escape financial distress and claw back control over punishing economics. This shift could shrink a 70-person film crew down to just seven, fundamentally reshaping the industry's workforce.
How We Got Here
Bollywood has been in a sticky spot since Covid, with nine of every ten films released since then flopping by industry estimates. Cinema footfall barely grew in 2025, pushing studios to seek radical solutions after star fees and unorganised lending eroded profits.
The Numbers
- Vikram Malhotra, CEO of Abundantia Entertainment, believes AI enables "one-man-created blockbusters."
- His studio, Abundantia, launched a dedicated AI-content division, aiON, in October 2025.
- In February 2026, Abundantia partnered InVideo, an AI video-generation platform, committing ₹100 crore to an AI-driven film studio.
- Industry estimates suggest 9 out of 10 Bollywood films flop, while star fees and 18-60% annual interest on unorganised loans eat profits.
- Hollywood writers and actors went on historic labor strikes three years ago, setting guardrails around AI use in creative work.
What Happens Next
🇮🇳 Why This Matters for India
For the thousands of junior artists, technicians, and crew members in Mumbai's film industry, this shift threatens widespread job displacement.
The Take
Studios like Abundantia are winners here, gaining cost control and speed, but the immediate losers are Mumbai's 70-person crews facing job cuts. The real fight for guardrails around AI use for Indian writers and actors is yet to come, and it will be brutal.
Source:
The Ken ↗