Some say it with AI | Amita Madhvani's AI musical 'Mohini'

For nearly two decades, Amita Madhvani had the story of a 25-year-old dancer sitting with her. With AI, she says, she could finally bring it to life. The result is Mohini, a 12-episode microdrama streaming on Instagram. “Rather than have reservations, we are trying to grow with the technologyotherwise, we will be left behind,” says Amita.

Best known for being a key collaborator on her husband Ram Madhvani’s works, like Neerja and Aarya, Amita emphasises that AI is not displacing humans. “Feelings can only be generated when humans create it,” she says, and, in the case of Mohini, she has written both its story and lyrics. “Humans are running the tool [Google Cloud] and coming up with ideas. We are all learning AI together, with some of the crew as young as the titular character.”

Prod her on why she didn’t take Mohini to the umpteen microdrama platforms that have mushroomed in the past year, and Amita describes its making as very “hands-on”. “Equinox is a very homegrown production house with a very personal approach,” she says. “I have to see...does it have the expression and does it resonate?”

AI is steadily finding its way into filmmaking worldwide. Recently, American filmmaker Martin Scorsese admitted that he uses it for storyboarding. The Madhvanis, too, have used it during the pre-production visualisation stage. “It saves you time and helps you think clearly,” says Amita.