The way we watch movies in different languages is about to change completely, and it’s all thanks to a smart startup from Bengaluru. Neural Garage, an artificial intelligence company, has just done something amazing with the new movie “War 2” – they’ve made Hrithik Roshan speak perfect Telugu without him actually saying a single word in the language.
What Makes This So Special?
Think about every dubbed movie you’ve ever watched. You know that weird feeling when the actor’s lips don’t match what they’re saying? That annoying disconnect that makes you realize you’re watching a dubbed version? Well, Neural Garage has solved that problem using their VisualDub technology.
War 2, the highly anticipated action movie starring Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR, has become the world’s first film to be visually transformed from one language to another while making it look like the actors originally spoke in that language.
How This AI Magic Actually Works
Here’s where it gets really interesting. While Jr NTR dubbed his own lines in both Hindi and Telugu, the makers used cutting-edge AI technology to recreate Hrithik Roshan’s voice in Telugu. But that’s not all – they also used AI to make sure his lip movements perfectly match the Telugu words he’s “speaking” on screen.
Neural Garage’s VisualDub technology digitally alters actors’ facial movements to match the target language’s phonetic patterns. This means when you watch War 2 in Telugu, it will look like Hrithik Roshan is naturally speaking Telugu, not just having his Hindi words replaced with Telugu audio.
Revolution for Bollywood
This isn’t just about one movie. War 2 has received a straight film certificate for Telugu distribution – not as a dubbed version, but as what appears to be an original Telugu production. This is huge for the Indian film industry, where language barriers have always been a major challenge.
Mandar Natekar, CEO and co-founder of Neural Garage, calls this a “fundamental shift” in how movies are made and distributed. Instead of spending crores on separate productions for different languages, filmmakers can now create one movie and make it look native in multiple languages.
Bollywood’s Entry Point for South
The commercial impact could be massive. Indian cinema has always struggled with linguistic barriers – Hindi films often don’t perform well in South Indian states where Telugu, Tamil, and other regional languages dominate. Similarly, southern blockbusters rarely achieve pan-India success without extensive dubbing campaigns.
If this technology works as promised, producers could potentially double or triple their pre-release distribution revenues by selling what appears to be multiple “native” productions while only bearing the cost of one shoot.
Recognition and Backing
Neural Garage isn’t just another startup with big claims. They’ve received backing from Google’s GenAI Accelerator and AWS’s Global GenAI programme. The company also won TechCrunch’s Battlefield competition in 2024 and this year’s SXSW innovation award, showing that serious tech investors believe in their vision.
What This Means for the Future
Natekar has even bigger dreams. He envisions a future where “Hrithik Roshan can now be a Telugu, Tamil, or even a Spanish actor. Tom Cruise in Bhojpuri? Now possible.”
But this technology goes beyond Bollywood. Hollywood studios spend millions dubbing blockbusters for international markets, while streaming platforms like Netflix invest heavily in creating content in different languages. A reliable visual dubbing solution could dramatically reduce these costs while reaching much larger audiences.
While the technology sounds revolutionary, the real test will be audience acceptance. If War 2 performs well in Telugu markets without viewers detecting the artificial manipulation, it could indeed mark the beginning of a new era in global entertainment.
The movie releases on August 14, 2025, and all eyes will be on how Telugu audiences react to seeing Hrithik Roshan apparently speaking their language fluently.
This is just the beginning. Other major productions like the upcoming Ramayana movie are also planning to use similar AI dubbing technology to overcome language barriers and reach global audiences.
As AI continues to transform creative industries, Neural Garage’s success with War 2 could be the proof of concept that changes how movies are made and distributed worldwide. The age of truly global cinema – where language is no longer a barrier – might finally be here.
