The Impact of Movie Colorization by Artificial Intelligence on Cinematic Symbolism: A Case Study of Satyajit Ray’s ‘Pather Panchali’

Abstract

The objective of image colorization is to add color to a monochrome input picture to generate a colorful outcome, which is a classic and essential issue in visual effects. In cinema, color has a significant role in on various levels. But it was not the fundamental component of cinema. Although color was added in film later, but for a long time people were used to watching movies on their black and white television set.This study depends on the effort of a Bengali professor based in the United States who used artificial intelligence to colorize Satyajit Ray’s ‘Pather Panchali’ as a quarantine experiment. This research analyzes the use of colorization in ‘Pather Panchali’ to determine whether the colors work well to emphasize the film's symbolic meaning. It also examines whether there is still a place for sentimentality after colorization and how well AI works at coloring in black and white movies.The research objectives include evaluating the role that colorization plays in bringing the film's meaning to light with regard to certain situations, examining among specialists the nostalgia/emotions linked with classic black and white films, and gauging experts reaction to the practice of using AI to colorize previously black-and-white movies. This study uses in-depth interviews as a qualitative research approach for gathering expert opinions.This study concludes that the cinematic symbolism of the black and white version of ‘Pather Panchali’ is lost in the colorized version. Expert interviews revealed the complex connection between colorization and the film's visual style. The findings emphasize the need for careful consideration and preservation of the original black-and-white format, while also recognizing the advancements and limitations of artificial intelligence in the colorization process.