Abhishek Bachchan Warns Against Soulless AI in Cinema 

Abhishek Bachchan shares concerns over AI’s impact on creativity at the 2026 Global Business Summit.

Abhishek Bachchan Warns

Could a computer ever replicate the specific, weary sigh of a man who has lost everything, or the subtle glint of triumph in a hero’s eye? For Abhishek Bachchan, the answer isn’t just “no”—it’s a warning.

Speaking at the ET NOW Global Business Summit 2026, the actor bypassed the usual tech-optimism to voice a primal fear shared by many in the creative arts: Artificial Intelligence is coming for the soul of cinema.

The Fear of the Flawless 

“AI scares me. It should scare every actor,” Bachchan remarked with startling candor. His unease doesn’t stem from a lack of technical appreciation, but from a deep understanding of what makes a performance resonate.

While he acknowledged that AI-generated products are “wonderful” to look at, he pointed out a fatal deficit: they lack a soul.

Acting is, by definition, an exercise in human vulnerability. Bachchan argues that the very “imperfection” of a human being is what creates a connection with the audience.

In a world of AI-generated avatars—like the recent viral recreations of his roles in Guru and Bluffmaster for the song Just a Boy—we risk trading emotional depth for digital convenience.

The Economic Trade-Off 

Bachchan isn’t a Luddite; he sees the mechanical benefits of the revolution. He noted several areas where AI is undeniably beneficial:

• Animation and VFX: Slashing the grueling hours required for frame-by-frame rendering.
• Budget Optimization: Bringing down the astronomical costs of high-concept filmmaking.
• Logistical Efficiency: Reducing the “working hours” spent on repetitive post-production tasks.

However, he remains “off the fence” regarding the overall benefit to the craft. For him, the reduction in budget shouldn’t come at the cost of the performer’s agency. If a machine can recreate an actor’s likeness without their presence, the industry enters a legal and moral wilderness.

Beyond the Soundstage 

Bachchan’s concerns extended far beyond the local multiplex. He predicted massive disruptions in the medical and legal fields, suggesting that AI’s reach will alter the fundamental fabric of professional expertise.

This broader perspective highlights a man who is “learning and reading a lot” about the landscape, refusing to give a hollow endorsement to a technology he doesn’t yet fully trust.

This skepticism comes at a pivotal moment in his career. With his upcoming project King—a massive collaboration with Shah Rukh Khan and Siddharth Anand—Bachchan is moving into a production environment that likely utilizes the very cutting-edge tech he questions.

How a film of that scale balances its star-studded cast (including Deepika Padukone and Anil Kapoor) with the efficiency of AI will be the ultimate test of his theories.

Why You Should Fear Perfection 

The industry is currently obsessed with making AI look “more real.” This is the wrong goal.

1. The Uncanny Valley: The closer AI gets to looking human, the more it repels us. The “soul” Bachchan speaks of is found in the gap between reality and digital mimicry.
2. Mistakes are Assets: A legendary performance often hinges on an unplanned tremor in the voice or a tear that falls at the “wrong” time. AI cannot plan for the beauty of an accident.
3. Intellectual Humility: Bachchan’s admission that he doesn’t have a “complete grasp” of the landscape is his greatest strength. In an era of “fake it till you make it,” pausing to understand the threat is the only way to survive it.

The Final Act 

As we look toward the release of King, the conversation Bachchan has started will only grow louder. Cinema has survived the transition from silent to sound, and black-and-white to color.

But the transition from human to algorithm is different. It’s not just a change in how we see; it’s a change in what we feel.

Key Takeaways:

• Humanity over Hardware: The “imperfections” of human actors are what build audience empathy.
• Tactical Utility: AI is a tool for the “background”—animation and VFX—not a replacement for the “foreground” performer.
• The Disruption Factor: AI’s impact is systemic, affecting medicine and law as much as movies.