Pakistan has entered a new chapter in filmmaking, but not everyone is celebrating.
The Next Salahuddin, described as Pakistan’s first AI-generated film, is set to air on HUM TV after the channel announced it had picked up the project for broadcast. The film already had a limited theatrical run across nine Pakistani cities earlier this year.
The story follows Yousuf, a young Gazan boy whose family is killed in an airstrike. He grew up determined to unite Muslims worldwide, raise the Palestinian flag over Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and walk in the footsteps of Salahuddin Ayubi, the famous Muslim general who recaptured the holy city during the Crusades.
The film was conceptualised by Ustadh Asim Ismail and written and created using AI tools by Farhan Siddiqui. A Malaysian non-profit, Cinta Gaza Malaysia, also played a role in its development under the banner of Jinn TV.
But the HUM TV announcement did not go down smoothly online. Many viewers questioned why one of Pakistan’s biggest media companies needed to use AI to tell such an emotionally important story about Palestinian suffering. People raised concerns that real human artists, writers, and filmmakers were being bypassed for a topic that deserved genuine human effort and sensitivity.
Others pointed to broader problems with AI itself, its heavy use of water and energy, and the ongoing global debate about how AI exploits the creative work of artists and writers without permission or payment. Some commenters were blunt, saying AI simply cannot make art, and called for a boycott of AI-generated content altogether.
HUM TV has not announced a release date yet. Whether audiences will watch or boycott remains to be seen, but the conversation it has started is already loud and very much alive.
