Saving Miyazaki from the algorithm

A still from the film

Ghibli AI fever has taken over our phone screens but this week we watched a movie Max, Min & Meowzaki by director Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy that wants to reclaim Hayao Miyazaki's real legacy, reigniting debates around artistic originality and a long-standing criticism of AI-generated art. The filmmaker believes the social media discourse on the subject has missed what truly makes the Japanese master timeless.

His Hindi film starring Adil Hussain, Nasser, Medha Shankr, Siddharth Menon, Mandira Bedi, Nafisa Ali and Vidhatri Bandi among others, even names its feline after Miyazaki. But the reference for Narasimhamurthy, it's about bringing back the values that define Miyazaki's cinema. "I think the biggest thing is friendship," he says. "If it's genuine, it endures. You see that throughout the film. Every relationship begins with friendship before it becomes anything else. That's something Miyazaki has always understood. Whether it's between men and women, humans and non-humans, his films always celebrate the depth of friendship."

Meowzaki, the cat in the film, is named after Hayao Miyazaki

Just as important, he says, is compassion. "In Miyazaki's films, people genuinely care about each other. We are closed to other points of view. For instance, a track I used in this film is about a friend of mine who cut all ties because his girlfriend wanted to have an abortion and I supported her because well, her body, her decision! People think it's biographical, but it's really not. Some of what my relationship with my father was, is mirrored in the movie. I built in a grandfather I wish I could have had. The bittersweet breakup is well, life," he says, with a glint of joy in his eyes.

The politics in Max, Min & Meowzaki are equally important. It goes on to discuss everyday politics, religious discrimination, body autonomy for women, youth protest in a regular everyday fashion, while focussing on intergenerational trauma, grief and moving on. Narasimhamurthy rejects the idea that Miyazaki's films are escapist.

"Every Miyazaki film is political. Princess Mononoke is about nature and coexistence. Kiki's Delivery Service has a feminist undertone. Spirited Away is about consumerism. They're wrapped inside beautiful fairy tales, but they're all saying something about the world," he says, adding that he simply follows suit.

He admits he has never believed in separating his politics from his filmmaking. "I wear everything on my sleeve. My first film, A Billion Colour Story, came out during the lynching years because I had something I needed to say. My greatest fear is the division and suspicion that exists today. What is the need for all this hatred? Art is supposed to speak the conscience of humanity."

Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy

That conviction, however, came at a price. Even this gentle, feel-good drama wasn't spared. "I ran into censor problems with this film. There were lines I had to change. References to Muslims were removed. I even got a lesson in casteism during the process. It's ironic. Here's a film that's fundamentally about kindness and healing, and we're still afraid of conversations."

The resurgence of AI-generated Ghibli-style artwork has only strengthened his belief that the industry is heading in the wrong direction. "I'm very against what AI is doing right now because it's destroying lives, not just livelihoods. AI isn't creating original work. It's making mathematical combinations of everything that already exists. What happens to the musician who's spent a lifetime mastering an instrument? What happens to writers? It's not just eroding art, it's eroding readership."

He believes preserving the work of masters like Miyazaki is an ethical responsibility. "We should be using technology to remove human drudgery, not replace human creativity." His own film reflects that philosophy. Therapy, forgiveness, broken relationships and complicated family dynamics all emerge naturally instead of being reduced to dramatic plot devices.

"We've all been somebody's toxic boyfriend or toxic partner. We've all had toxic partners. Then you grow up and realise it didn't have to be that bitter. Therapy teaches you to forgive yourself and everyone else. You just keep trying to do life a little better, parenting a little better, loving a little better. That's what this film is about."

The filmmaker says one of his biggest challenges today is simply finding backing for stories that choose empathy over spectacle. "I make films that feel good but still ask difficult questions.

Financing them has become harder and harder. Then I see films full of misogyny getting massive budgets. That's disillusioning. But I'm a writer. I'm a dreamer. I'll keep making these stories. If you call out a little dissidence in society, what's wrong with that? Art is meant to speak the conscience of humanity."

But does it have a nod from the master himself? After making the film, Narasimhamurthy even tried to reach Miyazaki himself. "We screened the film in Osaka and reached out to Studio Ghibli because I wanted Mr Miyazaki to watch it. That's all. We aren't borrowing his work; we're celebrating everything he stands for. We couldn't reach him, but I hope someday he watches it."

For Narasimhamurthy, Max, Min & Meowzaki is far from an attempt to recreate Studio Ghibli in Hindi. It's an attempt to revive something far more elusive. "I feel like I'm hugging people with this film. That's all I wanted to do," he signs off.