‘Some Journeys Don’t End, They Evolve,’ Says Soundarya Rajinikanth

Eros International, one of the producers of Soundarya Rajinikanth’s 2014 directorial debut Kochadaiyan, recently announced that the film is being restored and reimagined using ErosGenAI. A teaser of the reimagined version has been released. The film featured Rajinikanth in a dual role as father Kochadaiyan and son Rana, with Deepika Padukone making her Tamil debut in the lead. AR Rahman scored the music.

Despite being India's first photorealistic motion-capture film, the original release received significant flak and failed to perform at the box office. Comparing it to other motion capture-heavy films, particularly Avatar, critics highlighted inconsistencies in the animation. Now, with advancements in generative technology, filmmakers are revisiting their work using AI tools to craft fully reimagined versions.

“Kochadaiyan reimagined. This is an emotion I can't explain. My first baby. My first leap of faith,” said Soundarya recently on X. “More than a decade ago, we dared to attempt something India had never done before... a photorealistic performance motion capture feature film. It challenged me. It changed me. This one's personal. Some journeys don't end. They evolve.”At the recent success meet of her production venture With Love, Soundarya said “I’m incredibly proud that even after a decade, no one has attempted another full-fledged performance-capture, motion capture film like Kochadaiyan. It will always remain close to my heart.”