Campaigning ends for Karnataka bypolls
Bengaluru: The high voltage campaigning for the November 3 bypolls to two assembly seats in Karnataka ended on Sunday.
The run-up to the bypolls in R R Nagar in the city and Sira in Tumakuru district, which has a total of 31 candidates in the fray, saw the ruling BJP, opposition Congress and JD(S) hurl charges at each other.
In R R Nagar, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had promised to make BJP candidate Munirathna a minister "after he wins the polls," which drew a sharp reaction from Congress, with its state chief D K Shivakumar alleging that it was a violation of the model code of conduct.
The Congress, which has fielded H Kusuma, wife of former IAS officer late D K Ravi in the seat traditionally held by the party, accused JD(S) of playing spoilsport.
The JD(S) has fielded V Krishnamurthy.
"We all know the Noora Kushti (friendly fight) going on between BJP and JD(S)," Congress MP D K Suresh said on October 31, a statement which drew flak from JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy.
In Sira, the BJP, Congress, and JD(S) have fielded radiologist Dr. Rakesh Gowda, former minister T B Jayachandra and former (JD-S) MLA B Satyanarayana's wife Ammajamma respectively.
Satyanarayana's death after a prolonged illness in August warranted the Sira bypoll.
The BJP has never won the election from there, but this time, the party would try to turn the tables on the Congress and the JD(S).
Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa's son and BJP state vice president B Y Vijayendra led the election campaign here.
During campaigning, the Chief Minister had said that the BJP had lost its deposit here but that the voters have made up their mind this time to give the saffron party a chance.
If that were to happen, it will be another dent in the JD(S) citadel.
BJP had already wrested the KR Pet assembly constituency in Mandya from JD(S), which was its stranglehold.
A year ago during the Lok Sabha election, a BJP backed independent MP Sumalatha Ambareesh, a multilingual film actress, had won the election from Mandya defeating the JD(S) first family H D Deve Gowda's grandson and H D Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil Kumaraswamy.
The JD(S) and the Congress have left no stone unturned to prevent the BJP from making any gains here.
In the 224 RPT 224 seat assembly, BJP has 116 MLAs minus the Speaker, Congress 67 and JD(S) 33, BSP 1 and there are two independents.
There is also a nominated member.
Four seats are vacant, of which elections to R R Nagar and Sira, will take place on November 3.
Elections to Maski and Basava Kalyan, will be held later.
While the election in Maski is caught in a legal tangle, the Basava Kalyan seat fell vacant due to the death of Congress MLA B Narayan Rao.
The counting of votes for the bypolls will take place on November 10.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
AI reshaping music, filmmaking in Kannada cinema
Bengaluru: Artificial Intelligence is slowly changing the way music and creativity are produced in the Kannada film industry, raising concerns among musicians, singers and technicians, The New Indian Express reported on Sunday.
Music composer, actor and director V Manohar reportedly said, AI is being used to write lyrics, especially in low-budget movies. Once lyrics are generated, AI can suggest thousands of tunes. It even asks whether the voice should be male or female. With one click, a complete song is ready.
“If this continues, singers and musicians will have less or no work in the coming days. But it may not succeed either. A few years ago, dubbing was allowed and people could watch movies in any language they preferred. But not many took to it as they wanted to watch a movie in the original,” TNIE quoted him as saying.
According to the report, Filmmaker Avinash U Shetty, a National Award winner, said resistance to new technology is not new. Those who resisted shifting from analogue to digital films years ago have now embraced it. The industry is now using only 10% of the AI potential. If it is scaled up, it can do unimaginable things. What we consider bad now, may not be after five years.
Highlighting the cost advantage, Sangamesh, an independent creator reportedly said, he made a three-minute video using AI for just Rs 4,500. Earlier, the same work would have cost nearly Rs 15 lakh. I finished the entire project in three days. The only expense was the AI software subscription, he said.
These days, it has become difficult to differentiate between the real and AI. AI is creating artistes. Scenes like war, big fights and dance can be shot with a lesser number of artistes. Then with the aid of visual effects and AI, you can achieve what you have in mind, he said.
Actor-director D P Raghuram felt that while AI has made an impact on music, it lacks emotional depth. Cinema earlier involved hard work and strong emotional connections. AI can help improve our work, but creativity should remain human, he reportedly said.
As per the report, earlier, Kannada cinema employed hundreds of junior artistes, who not only earned wages but also shared meals on sets and formed lasting bonds with stars like Dr Rajkumar, Vishnuvardhan and Ambareesh. Today, filmmakers fear that increasing dependence on AI could reduce such human connections, turning creativity into just another automated process.
