Swanand Kirkire fears for the soul of Bollywood music: Why the ‘O Ri Chiraiya’ creator is wary of AI | Bollywood News
3 min readNew DelhiMay 15, 2026 08:28 PM IST
The film industry witnessed a massive shift after the COVID-19 pandemic. Filmmakers appeared to be running out of fresh ideas, while audiences became far more selective about where they wanted to spend their money. Viewers began rejecting content, and conversations around strong writing and meaningful storytelling started dominating the industry. Now, actor-singer Swanand Kirkire has shared his thoughts on the changing landscape, saying that while Mumbai values talent immensely, it somewhere struggles when it comes to creating truly original content.
Bombay is lacking creativity: Swanand Kirkire
Speaking to SCREEN, Swanand said, “Bombay has given value to everything I gained from Indore and Delhi. Bombay respects creative people, but when it comes to creativity itself, they are sometimes unable to create something of their own. In places like Delhi, where resources are limited, the passion to do something out of the box and the desperation to create art become much stronger. But I have no complaints from Mumbai. The city has given me ample opportunities to sing, act, and now even direct.”
He further reflected on the constant changes the entertainment industry goes through and how creative phases evolve with time.
AI has entered the film industry: Swanand Kirkire
“Every five to seven years, trends in the industry change. Now it will be interesting to see who adapts the best to this shift. Things are changing, and people’s perspectives are changing too. AI has also entered the scene now,” he said.
Talking about the growing role of artificial intelligence in entertainment, Swanand added, “AI hasn’t started impacting the film industry completely yet, but it feels like it soon will. It is already writing songs and composing music, and with every passing day it is getting better, so you never know.”
When asked whether he believes AI could one day create something as emotional and powerful as “O Ri Chiraiya”, Swanand Kirkire admitted he hopes that never happens.
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“I don’t believe it will. AI is ultimately human intelligence — humans are developing it. I truly hope it never reaches a level where it can write songs with that kind of emotion. But at the same time, I cannot deny how fast it is growing. A lot of filmmakers already use AI to create sample songs and then tell us, ‘We want something like this.’ That has already started happening. AI is real,” he said.
He also pointed out the growing concerns around originality and copyright. “People are beginning to see AI as a danger because of copyright issues. At the end of the day, AI pulls from what already exists. If you ask it to write in someone’s style, it will inevitably take references from that person’s work, and traces of it may reflect in the final script or song. That could become a serious issue. These are conversations people need to start having. This is a completely new world, and eventually, we will find a way to work alongside it.”
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