Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered films have already become a reality, so a film festival dedicated to them was only a matter of time — and it has finally happened. On October 31, India’s maiden AI Film Festival, the Mumbai AI Filmmaking Festival (MAFF), was held at the Royal Opera House, Mumbai. The three-day festival featured 15 AI-powered short films by creators from across India and around the world. Director Shakun Batra, who served on the festival’s judging panel, is thrilled that, for the first time, there is a platform in the country that allows filmmakers to “play, fail, and find their voice.”
“This feels like the beginning of something real for the AI filmmaking ecosystem in India. It’s not about hype, it’s about access. For the first time, filmmakers who aren’t from traditional film backgrounds are experimenting and being seen. That’s a powerful start for any movement,” he says.
Batra was joined by filmmakers Ram Madhavani and Karan Anshuman, and actors Kunal Kapoor and Abhay Deol, among others, on the panel, which awarded one of the 15 films the top prize of Rs 20 lakh.
The festival — curated by Hardeep Gambhir and co-organised by Chandan Perla — follows close on the heels of the première of JioHotstar’s AI-powered series Mahabharat: Ek Dharmayudh. mid-day had earlier reported that Maddock Films is developing an AI film for its horror-comedy universe (Woh AI hai, woh kuch bhi kar sakta hai, 25/10/2025).
So, is the industry staring at the possibility of artificial intelligence becoming an integral feature of Indian filmmaking, we ask Batra. “It’s inevitable,” he replies, before adding, “But the question is how. The best use of it won’t be to replace artistes, but to expand what’s possible, to make the ambitious more accessible, and the intimate more expressive. If we approach it with intention rather than fear, it can actually deepen the craft.”
Many creators, who are otherwise at the mercy of a producer’s backing, argue that AI enables them to be independent. It only requires the technology to bring their vision to screen. Batra, who directed an AI-powered five-part series earlier this year, agrees and calls AI “a great equaliser if used with the right intent.”
Batra might be a staunch endorser of AI-integrated cinema, but louder are the voices of its critics, who have compared AI-powered storytelling to creative theft, claiming it lack emotions and devalues labour. While Batra acknowledges the criticism, he believes AI cannot define a filmmaker and can “only replicate technique, not soul.” He says, “The soul still comes from the filmmaker — from intention, choices, and emotion. For me, AI is a tool, not an author.”
Did you know?
Shakun Batra created a five-part film series, ‘The Getaway Car’, on X with Google Gemini and Google’s advanced AI video generation model
A still from Shakun Batra’s AI film, ‘The Getaway Car’
Job loss for actors
Shakun Batra believes that both actors and AI can co-exist. “Nothing can replace the feeling of directing an actor and watching them bring a moment to life. No technology can replicate that exchange and spark. It’s what reminds you why you fell in love with filmmaking in the first place,” he says.
