The internet hasn’t stopped talking about those unsettling AI-generated babies since the first look of Hai Jawaani Toh Ishq Hona Hai dropped on April 14. But here’s what well-placed sources close to the production are now quietly confirming: the digital toddlers were always a teaser-only device cooked up to grab eyeballs, never intended to make the theatrical cut.
“It was purely a gimmick to get people talking about the film’s premise,” a source with direct knowledge of the production told us. “The makers wanted a quick, visually arresting way to set up the love triangle without revealing actual footage. AI babies were the pitch. It got greenlit for the teaser and stopped right there. There is no AI in the film.”
The clarification comes as the teaser continues to attract more heat than hype. David Dhawan’s 46th directorial starring Varun Dhawan, Mrunal Thakur, and Pooja Hegde in a chaotic love triangle was meant to arrive on a wave of nostalgic goodwill. Instead, the opening sequence, featuring two digitally rendered infants piecing together that they share the same father, triggered widespread ridicule online, with viewers calling it “creepy,” “tone-deaf,” and a symptom of a creative team chasing viral trends it doesn’t quite understand.
Sources say the AI sequence was conceived and executed by a third-party creative agency brought on for the launch campaign independent of how the film itself was made. David Dhawan, by all accounts, directed Hai Jawaani Toh Ishq Hona Hai the way he always has on set, with actors, with instinct.
The production is now understood to be pivoting its promo strategy, with a proper trailer one that puts Varun, Mrunal, and Pooja front and centre expected within the next fortnight. The hope is that audiences will let the film speak for itself once they see what’s actually in it.
Hai Jawaani Toh Ishq Hona Hai releases in cinemas worldwide on May 22, 2026.
Also Read: Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai First look: Varun Dhawan is caught in a double love twist with Pooja Hedge and Mrunal Thakur
