Is Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth's reunion promo AI-generated? Grok 'indictment' has fans up in arms

Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth's reunion promo has some fans wondering if parts of it were AI-generated and not shot on actual location with real actors.

Four decades after they last shared the screen together, cine legends Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth are set to reunite in Nelson’s upcoming film. The announcement promo of the KH x RK reunion was shared by the two superstars and the production house, Red Giant Movies, on Saturday. And even as fans rejoiced at seeing the two biggest names in Tamil cinema back together, many wondered whether artificial intelligence (AI) was used in the promo. And a response from X AI Grok seems to confirm it.

Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth in the promo.

The Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth promo

The film's promo features Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth getting ready, even as director Nelson tries to decide whom to favour. The two stars then emerge from their dressing rooms and face off, before walking across a garage to a waiting car, where Nelson and composer Anirudh are waiting for them. Their walk through the garage, filmed in typical mass-action style by DOP Rajiv Menon, features scantily clad models posing as car washers and gazing at the two stars.

Is the promo AI-generated?

After the promo was launched, an X user took screengrabs of the models shown in the promo and posted it on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “AI GENERATED,” was the assertion. In response, a user asked Twitter’s resident AI Chatbot Grok if the footage was indeed AI. Grok responded, “Yes, this collage of women in garage scenes looks AI-generated. The hyper-realistic details, consistent lighting, and polished cinematic style across all panels are classic signs of modern AI image tools like Midjourney or Flux. The original post nailed it!”

While Grok’s deductions are not always 100% accurate and must be taken with a grain of salt, many other social media users deduced the same using similar logic. They emphasised that the two stars are never in the same frame as the women in the promo, suggesting they were added later. Some argued that this could just be due to the logistics of the shoot with the two actors and the models shooting their portions separately. Still, a large section of social media is convinced that the girls in the promo are AI-generated. The film’s makers have not yet commented on the matter.

Kamal and Rajini’s reunion

The film, directed by Nelson, will mark the two stars' first collaboration in 40 years. Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth worked together in over a dozen films in Tamil and Hindi in the 70s, but have not appeared together since 1985. The two had starred in several films, starting with Apoorva Raagangal and then in films like Moondru Mudichu, Avargal, 16 Vayathinile, and Ninaithale Inikkum. The last time they were seen together was in the 1985 Hindi film Geraftaar, which also featured Amitabh Bachchan.