After Dhurandhar, Saumya Tandon stars in Vispala: India’s Forgotten Warrior Queen, a 25-minute short blending generative AI and live action. Though she found creating and training a digital avatar challenging, she says AI can enhance filmmaking
A still from ‘Vispala’
After Dhurandhar (2025), Saumya Tandon will be seen in the short film, Vispala: India’s Forgotten Warrior Queen. What drew the actor to Ishan Modi’s directorial venture is that it merges generative AI and live-action performance to tell an age-old story. The 25-minute film revolves around Vispala, believed to be India’s first warrior queen who returned to battle with a prosthetic leg, contrasting her story with that of Ishani, a modern woman.
Tandon’s first brush with generative AI was “challenging”. “I’m used to internalising a character and emoting naturally. Here, you create a digital avatar, and then you have to teach it to express emotions. In the beginning, it was so frustrating that I wanted to abandon the project,” she recalled.
The AI team helped her keep going as they built the ancient world together. She added, “I enjoy real-life filmmaking far more. But AI can enhance filmmaking, especially in areas that are impossible to achieve without massive budgets.”
Feb 26
When the short film will stream on YouTube
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