“We Took Permission”: AR Rahman On Using AI To Recreate Voices Of Late Singers Bamba Bakya, Shahul Hameed

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India] : Music maestro AR Rahman’s latest song ‘Thimiri Yezhuda’ from Rajinikanth-starrer ‘Lal Salaam’ features voices of late singers Bamba Bakya and Shahul Hameed. Wondering how is it possible? Well, don’t be surprised as we are living in the age of AI.

Rahman in a post on X admitted using AI. He also shared that he took permission from the families of the late singers’ to use their voices for the track.

“We took permission from their families and sent deserving remuneration for using their voice algorithms ..technology is not a threat and a nuisance if we use it right…(folded hands emoticon),” Rahman wrote.

He also added the hashtags respect and nostalgia in the post.

While some liked the use of AI in ‘Thimiri Yezhuda’ song, there’s a section of society that called out the makers for this move and said he could have given an opportunity to aspiring singers.

Singer Bamba Bakya died in 2022 due to a cardiac arrest. Meanwhile, Shahul Hameed died in a car crash in 1997, near Chennai.