Director Shakun Batra discusses AI, creativity and the evolving future of filmmaking at MAFF | File Photo
As AI rapidly enters the world of filmmaking, director Shakun Batra finds himself both curious and cautious. Known for stories rooted in emotion and human complexity, he sees AI not as a threat, but as a new creative tool, one that must be handled with intention. In an exclusive interview with The Free Press Journal, Batra reflects on MAFF, the future of storytelling, and why the heart of cinema will always remain human.
1. As a filmmaker known for intimate and human-driven stories, what was your first reaction to seeing AI-generated films at MAFF?
Honestly, I went in curious but cautious. My stories usually live in emotion, silence, contradictions, the things that can’t be faked. But some of the work at MAFF really surprised me. Not because it was perfect, but because I could sense a human behind it, trying to express something personal through a completely new set of tools.
It reminded me that we shouldn’t judge the medium too quickly. Emotion isn’t about format; it’s about the intention.
2. Do you think AI can enhance emotional storytelling, or does it risk taking cinema too far away from human experience?
It actually began very casually. My team noticed a tweet where I’d been tagged in a post about AI storytelling. A few days later, Hardeep and I connected. We spoke, and once I heard his vision for MAFF not just as a tech showcase, but as a platform to explore deeper creative questions, I was on board immediately.
It felt honest, curious, and open to interpretation. That’s the kind of space I’m drawn to: one that doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, but is genuinely willing to ask the right questions.
3. How do you see young creators using AI as a tool, especially those who may not have access to big budgets or studio resources?
Yes, mostly in how wide the range is in the way people are using it. Some are experimenting visually, some are testing tone, and some are playing with time and structure. And then there are filmmakers using AI simply to get started, people who might never have had access to a crew or a budget otherwise.
What struck me wasn’t the polish; it was the freedom. You could feel a real sense of possibility in the work.
4. Many fear that AI may replace certain creative jobs. What do you feel are the roles in filmmaking that AI can support, and which ones must remain human?
That fear is valid, and I think it’s important to acknowledge it openly. There will be changes, AI will definitely take over certain parts of the process, pre-visualisation, mood boards, maybe even early passes of VFX or set design.
But the heart of filmmaking is still the emotional logic, the performances, the silences, the “why” behind every scene, and that has to come from people. You can generate a thousand images, but choosing the one that actually tells your story? That’s a human instinct. And I hope it stays that way.
5. If you had access to today’s AI tools during the making of Kapoor & Sons, is there anything you would have done differently?
Honestly, I wouldn’t change the experience we had. That film was built on human collaboration; it was chaotic, vulnerable, full of texture. I wouldn’t want to polish any of that away. And certain kinds of films will always be better off without AI.
Also Watch:
6. Your film Gehraiyaan dealt with complex emotions and layered performances. Do you think AI can ever help in visualising or pre-building such intimate worlds?
To some extent, yes. You could build the environment, the mood, maybe even test certain sequences, especially the ones we shot at sea on a yacht. But the inner world of those characters — that messiness, the shifts in energy between lines, the things left unsaid — AI can’t predict that.
What I’d say is: AI can help you build the container. But the content, the feeling, the nuance — that still has to come from the actor, the director, the moment. That’s where the real intimacy lives.
