PM Modi joins AI Ghibli art trend: 'Main character? No, he’s the whole storyline'

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stepped into the world of Studio Ghibli-inspired art, as the Union government on Friday shared a series of AI-generated portraits reimagining key moments from his tenure in the distinctive Japanese animation style.
Sharing 12 Ghibli-style images on social media platform X, the government captioned them, "Main character? No. He's the whole storyline. Experience New India in Studio Ghibli strokes."
The artwork transforms iconic scenes from Modi’s political career into whimsical, pastel-colored frames reminiscent of legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki’s films.

Among the AI-crafted images are scenes depicting Modi’s meetings with world leaders, including US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron. Other portraits show him in an Indian Army uniform, posing with the Tricolour, and standing before the 'Sengol'—a historic sceptre installed in the new Parliament in 2023.
The series also captures PM Modi’s engagement with national infrastructure and defense. One image reimagines his sortie in a Tejas Twin Seat Light Combat Aircraft, while another places him beside a Vande Bharat train.

The collection further highlights moments like his Maldives visit and participation in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan cleanliness drive.
Meanwhile, PM Modi isn’t the only politician swept up by the Ghibli wave. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also shared AI-generated portraits of himself, confessing he had only just discovered the art form. "I’ve been assimilated into the Ghibli trend!" he wrote, adding that he was "officially Spirited Away" by the viral phenomenon—a nod to one of Miyazaki’s most beloved films.
While AI-generated Ghibli-style images flood social media, an old video of Hayao Miyazaki criticizing AI animation has resurfaced. In the clip, the famed animator called AI-generated work "an insult to life itself," reigniting debates on whether technology can capture the emotional depth of hand-drawn art.