Hungama and IICT host AI storytelling event ahead of Mumbai tech week 2026

MUMBAI: Lights, camera, algorithm. Hungama Digital Media Entertainment and Indian Institute of Creative Technologies brought together creators, coders and entertainment professionals for “Lights, Camera, Code: The New Storytelling Stack”, an official satellite event of Mumbai Tech Week 2026.

Held at the IICT campus at the National Film Development Corporation complex in Mumbai, the event explored how artificial intelligence is reshaping storytelling, entertainment production and the creator economy.

The third edition of Mumbai Tech Week, organised by the Tech Entrepreneurs Association of Mumbai, is scheduled to take place on May 29 and 30 at the Jio World Convention Centre under the theme “AI in Action”.

During his keynote session, Hungama founder and chief executive officer Neeraj Roy outlined his vision for what he described as an “AI storytelling civilisation” by 2030, where creators increasingly rely on AI-powered tools to produce, distribute and personalise content.

Roy highlighted India’s advantages in the evolving AI-driven entertainment landscape, pointing to the country’s young demographic, cultural diversity and rapidly growing adoption of artificial intelligence technologies.

He described four key pillars shaping the future of AI-native storytelling: creators becoming independent studios through AI tools, real-time language translation enabling global reach, participatory storytelling experiences and the reinvention of cultural intellectual property through AI-led narratives.

Roy also mapped what he called the future storytelling “stack”, spanning generative video, autonomous creative agents, immersive interfaces and intelligent distribution systems.

Speaking about the collaboration, Roy said the future of storytelling would belong to creators who can combine technology with narrative craft.

He added that partnerships between academia and industry are becoming increasingly important as entertainment and immersive media evolve rapidly.

Meanwhile, IICT CEO Vishwas Deoskar said India’s next chapter in entertainment would involve exporting not only stories but also the technology and creative talent powering those stories.

He noted that IICT aims to build an ecosystem where artists, coders, designers and entrepreneurs collaborate closely to shape the future of entertainment.

As AI continues rewriting the rules of content creation, events like these suggest the next blockbuster idea may arrive with as much code as creativity.