Hiya, that is Priyanka Salve, writing to you from Singapore.
Welcome to the most recent version of “Inside India“ — your one-stop vacation spot for tales and developments from the world’s fastest-growing giant financial system.
India is dwelling to the world’s most prolific filmmaking trade. This week, trade executives informed me that generative AI adoption is accelerating as producers search to satisfy rising content material demand within the nation’s $32 billion media and leisure sector whereas navigating tighter budgets.
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The massive story
Whereas Hollywood continues to work out how finest to use AI and debates its impact on jobs, filmmakers in India — the world’s most prolific movie production industry — have taken the subsequent step.
In October final yr, JioStar, a joint venture between Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries and Walt Disney, launched a 100-episode sequence that used generative AI to supply a retelling of the Indian mythological epic “Mahabharat.”
The sequence, “Mahabharat: Ek Dharmayudh,” garnered 6.5 million views on its launch day, with its efficiency exceeding 2.1 instances the platform common, JioStar’s Senior Vice President of GenAI Content material and Expertise Stephan Bugaj informed CNBC by e mail.
Bugaj added that the sequence was by no means meant to be “a one-off experiment” for the platform and is step one in exploring how AI can “develop the boundaries of storytelling.”
And so they aren’t the one ones.
Indian manufacturing home Abundantia Leisure is getting ready for the theatrical launch of “Chiranjeevi Hanuman – The Everlasting,” based mostly on the mythology round an Indian deity and described as India’s first AI-generated feature film by native media.
“Made in India: the Titan story,” a sequence streaming on Amazon’s MX Participant, has used over 100 AI photographs to recreate Mumbai of the Seventies, mentioned Prasad Gori, an AI artist who has labored on the undertaking together with his companions Anurag Tiwari and Sagar Chogale.
There was a increase in AI-related manufacturing work within the final eight months, Gori mentioned, including that he now will get 10-15 presents for such jobs each week. Three years in the past, he needed to chase manufacturing corporations for work.
India’s media and leisure market was valued at $32 billion in 2025 and is rising at 9%, a faster rate than the broader economy, in accordance with a report by consultancy agency Ernst & Younger in March.
Generative AI instruments can create movies and content material on a grand scale at a lot decrease value than conventional strategies, however the actual profit is that it cuts down manufacturing timelines, in accordance with Neil Shah, vice chairman of analysis at Counterpoint Analysis.
“There’s a large demand for content material in India,” Shah mentioned in a phone interview, including that it makes “time to market” a vital aspect for fulfillment.
The homepages of the Chinese language AI video era mannequin Seedance 2.0 seem on a cell phone, with Disney seen within the background on this photograph illustration in Brussels, Belgium, on February 16, 2026. (Photograph by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto by way of Getty Photos)
Jonathan Raa | Nurphoto | Getty Photos
Decreasing boundaries
AI presents filmmakers fast turnaround instances and unlocks creativity at a low value.
Manesh Muthu Swamy, co-founder and chief inventive officer of Indian content material manufacturing agency FirstAI Consultancy, informed CNBC that his group discovered a novel strategy to creating an animation undertaking utilizing AI.
First, the group shot content material utilizing human actors, then used AI to create animated characters based mostly on these actors’ facial expressions, Swamy mentioned, explaining that the know-how is not but capable of produce expressions effectively.
Creating such an animation from scratch would have value a couple of million {dollars} with conventional instruments, and over six months to a yr to supply, however with AI, it may be achieved with a couple of hundred {dollars} and inside weeks, he mentioned.
Throughout film studios, tv networks and content material manufacturing corporations, AI creators CNBC spoke to talked about utilizing all kinds of generative AI instruments, with Midjourney, Adobe Firefly, Kling, MiniMax, Seedance and Google’s AI Studio being steadily talked about.
Platforms like Higgsfield are additionally well-liked as they permit creators to work with a number of generative AI instruments.
The know-how can be reducing boundaries for brand new entrants.
Sudharshan Srinivasan, who works as an government producer within the Tamil movie trade, has spent years hoping to direct his personal function movie. Like many outsiders, he’s discovering it tough to interrupt into an trade the place entry to financing, stars, and distribution usually is determined by relationships constructed over a long time.
AI has given him a brand new route.
“AI has made filmmaking easy for small groups who’re struggling to search out producers or buyers,” Srinivasan informed CNBC, including that if he doesn’t discover a backer for his movie within the subsequent two years, he plans to supply it utilizing AI and launch it on a digital platform.
Have to know
India’s central financial institution cuts progress outlook, raises inflation forecast
India’s central financial institution on Friday held rates of interest at 5.25% however raised its inflation projection for the monetary yr ending March 2027 by 50 foundation factors to five.1%, whereas tempering the economy’s growth forecast to six.6% for the yr, down from 6.9% projected earlier.
India scraps tax on abroad bond buyers in bid to draw overseas capital and shore up the rupee
The federal government on Friday introduced that it has exempted foreign investors and the Financial institution for Worldwide Settlements — a worldwide monetary establishment owned by central banks— from earnings tax on any curiosity or capital features. The exemption will take impact from April 1, 2026, as per the federal government’s launch.
India’s progress story faces its hardest check but in Modi’s third time period
India’s rising popularity as an anti-artificial intelligence commerce, mixed with the economic strain of the prolonged conflict within the Center East on the Indian financial system, is resulting in a document exodus of overseas buyers from the nation.
Developing
June 12: India CPI inflation information for Could.
June 13-18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi to go to France and Slovakia.