Rajinikanth's upcoming film, Lal Salaam, is all set to feature a song, recorded in the voice of late singers Bamba Bakya and Shahul Hameed, and as soon as the announcement was made, it stirred a debate on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the music industry. However, music maestro AR Rahman has now clarified that their voice was used with due permission from their family members.
The song Thimiri Yezhuda in Lal Salaam has been recorded in the voice of the two late singers. Using AI models, AR Rahman brought back the voices of Bamba Bakya and Shahul Hameed, and he took to his social media handle to explain the same.
"We took permission from their families and sent deserving remuneration for using their voice algorithms," he clarified, after several netizens stated that it was wrong to bank on the voice of artists who were no more.
Rahman further promoted the use of AI and added, "Technology is not a threat and a nuisance if we use it right."
Lal Salaam's Thimiri Yezhuda marks the first time that the voice of late singers have officially been recreated for an album.
A few days ago, just ahead of the Ram Temple consecration in Ayodhya, a mesmerising video had gone viral on the internet in which the song, Ram Aayenge, was being crooned in the voice of the legendary late singer Lata Mangeshkar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi too had addressed the usage of AI to copy voices and had cited his own example wherein his voice was used to record multiple songs and dialogues.
Meanwhile, Lal Salaam marks the directorial return of Rajinikanth's daughter Aishwarya. The film, touted to be a sports drama, is set to release in theatres on February 9.
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