Carry on Jatta 4 recreates late Jaswinder Bhalla using AI: ‘People suggested replacements’

The debate around the usage of AI in films has divided filmmakers across the world. While many film industries fear that this could lead to job losses, some industries are welcoming AI in filmmaking. In India, the biggest example of the same is the Punjabi film Carry on Jatta 4, starring Gippy Grewal, where the makers have recreated late actor Jaswinder Bhalla via AI. The teaser revealed that the plot surrounds his passing in the film’s universe, and hinted that this would be a horror comedy with his character’s spirit still pulling the leg of his sons. The version that can be seen in the teaser and in the film is completely recreated digitally as Bhalla passed away before the film’s shoot began. Bhalla passed away in August 2025.

Jaswinder Bhalla died before the film’s shoot

In a chat with Bharti TV, Gippy opened up about the same and shared that they were planning to start the film a while ago but postponed it after Bhalla got sick. “He had a heart attack and got very weak. I told him that we will make another Carry on Jatta, and he was excited for it, but then he got another attack,” he shared. Gippy shared that at the time, they even decided not to shoot film in international locations, and finish the shoot in Mohali so Bhalla wouldn’t be required to travel. “We had written about 70 percent of the film then he got severely sick. And before we could do anything, he died,” he said.

‘It has never been done before’

After Bhalla’s passing, Gippy decided to shelve the franchise altogether, as they believed that they could not continue the franchise without him. “People suggested that we replace him but that didn’t feel right. We even thought of abandoning the film altogether,” he said. Gippy shared that when the film’s subject came up again, they remembered how Bhalla himself was quite excited for this and it was during this time, that they discussed how Paul Walker was recreated digitally for his last appearance in Furious 7. In that film, Paul had shot almost all of his parts before his untimely death, and only a few scenes had to be worked on digitally, but in Carry on Jatta 4, they had to create a complete character after his passing.

“It has never happened that after someone’s death, you create the person via AI. We liked the idea, so we discussed it with his wife first. She got emotional and said, ‘I want to see him, if that’s possible’,” he said and added that they first narrated the film’s plot to his family and after their approval, they started working on it.

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Jaswinder Bhalla’s son played his role, Gippy Grewal dubbed for him

Gippy shared that they had thought of casting Jaswinder’s son, Pukhraj, in a different role but after they came up with the idea of using AI, they asked Pukhraj to play Jaswinder on set. “We knew that people had seen Bhalla saab so closely that everyone is aware of his mannerisms. People mimic him on stage,” shared. For his voice, Gippy said that he dubbed for the character, and his voice was treated digitally to match Bhalla’s voice.

“People told me that AI is being misused a lot. This is the first time something right has been done using it. This is a comedy film but after watching the teaser, people said we got emotional,” he said and added, “We created his AI version with great difficulty.”

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Gippy said that in cases like these, the family of the actors can make money even after their death, but it should all be done only after the family’s permission.