Using artificial intelligence (AI) to recreate the voices of late singers is a sensitive issue and popular playback singer and producer SP Charan, the son of the late SP Balasubrahmanyam, has explained why he is totally against the idea.
Talking to VikatanSP Charan explained why he and his family members have repeatedly refused to cave in to this trend and give permission to recreate the legendary playback singer, late SP Balasubrahmanyam’s voice using AI.
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Matter of choice
In the interview, Charan said that while the recent song ‘Manasilaayo’ from ‘Vettaiyan’, in which late singer Malaysia Vasudevan’s voice was replicated using AI, may be a great song, the singer is not alive to make a choice if he wanted to sing that song at all. It is a matter of choice, he felt.
“If SPB was alive today and if he had received that opportunity, he may have said no to the song after listening to it,” he explained.
Therefore, by using a dead singer’s voice, you are robbing the right of choosing whether the singer would have wanted to sing the song or not, he said. By using AI, you are not giving the singer the opportunity, he added.
“It’s not right if all the songs can be sung by SPB or Malaysia Vasudevan because of the love you have for them,” he stressed.
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The emotion factor
Further, he said AI songs can replicate the voice but not the emotion.
“Malaysia Vasudevan sung brilliant songs such as ‘Poongaatru Thirumbuma’, which cannot be replicated. You can replicate the voice, but you cannot replicate the emotion that comes with listening to those songs nowadays,” he pointed out.
Many people have approached him asking his permission to use his father’s voice using AI but he continues to vehemently oppose it, he shared in the interview.
In Charan’s view, his family and he do not want SPB’s voice to be heard in “any Tom, Dick and Harry’s music”. “Even if it’s a responsible music director with a clarity in thoughts, I say no. He is there. Let him be,” he added.
SP Balasubramanyam died on September 25, 2020, after being hospitalised for nearly two months.
AR Rahman’s experiment
AR Rahman too had in used AI to recreate the voices of two deceased singers for Aishwarya Rajinikanth’s film ‘Lal Salaam’. Rahman had then defended the move, describing it as an experiment. And, he had clarified that he sought permission from the families of both singers, Bamba Bakya and Shahul Hameed, and compensated them for the songs.
It was 70 per cent successful, he had said about his experiment.SP Chara
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