Hindi
Make films shorter for global market: Shah Rukh
NEW DELHI: Actor Shah Rukh Khan says that there is a need to take to more positive themes in Indian films and to make them much shorter if India has to go global.
Khan who was here to participate in the ‘In conversation with Karan Johar’ session at the two-day Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on ‘Imagine the India that Can Be’, said this was also in keeping with the changing trends of seeing films in multiplexes, which could hold more shows in a day.
Addressing a press meet along with Karan Johar, Khan said that screenplay-writing was being treated as a science all over the world except India, where it was still seen as art.
Filmmakers treated the audiences in the same manner as three or four decades earlier, whereas viewers were much sharper now and screenplays could be crisper.
There was also need to “marry technology with technique” or get the right kind of manpower for handling the modern technologies available, he added.
He also stressed the need for aggressive marketing at international film festivals, adding that a film shortlisted for the Oscars needed full support despite the controversies that surrounded every selection. “Controversies are good, because they show there is a lot of diversity in our cinema, but once a film is selected, we should back it up,” he asserted.
He felt films should now start concentrating on more positive aspects of the country and not merely on the negative or regressive aspects, since there was much reason to celebrate in India‘s growth. He said Chak De was not about hockey or against cricket. It was first and foremost, a film about women empowerment and any sport would have been fine for the theme.
Answering a question, he said he had always acted in films of which he liked the storylines and did not care who made them, but he said almost all the newcomers with whom he had done films became big filmmakers afterwards. “I cater to what the people would like to see. I am not the master of my own destiny,” he said.
Johar said brevity was not his strong point and his shortest film had exceeded three hours. He may, therefore, find it difficult to cut them down to two hours as Shah Rukh had suggested. But he generally agreed that films should be shorter.
Hindi
Kridhan Infra enters film production with AI-led feature film
Infra firm debuts AI-powered film marking RSS centenary
MUMBAI: Kridhan Infra Limited is swapping hard hats for headsets. The infrastructure company has announced its entry into film production and media technology through its subsidiary, Kridhan Mediatech Private Limited, with the nationwide theatrical release of Shatak: Sangh Ke 100 Varsh, an AI-led feature film.
With Shatak, the company is not just stepping into cinema but staking a claim in what it describes as one of the world’s early full-length AI-driven feature films. Artificial Intelligence has been embedded across the creative and production process, from script visualisation and environment creation to modelling and production design.
The film commemorates 100 years of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, tracing defining moments, personalities and historical phases that shaped its journey. By combining archival storytelling with algorithm-powered creativity, the project attempts to blend heritage with high technology.
For Kridhan Mediatech, this is only the opening scene. The subsidiary’s broader ambition spans AI, CGI, virtual production systems and scalable content models for both theatres and digital platforms. The move signals a strategic diversification for Kridhan Infra, traditionally rooted in engineering and construction.
The timing aligns with India’s growing push to become a global AI powerhouse. At the 2026 AI Impact Summit, prime minister Narendra Modi urged innovators to design in India and deliver to the world. Kridhan Mediatech’s initiative positions itself squarely within that narrative, aiming to export technology-enabled storytelling beyond domestic audiences.
India’s media and entertainment industry, valued at over Rs 2.5 lakh crore, alongside a rapidly expanding AI economy projected to cross Rs 1.4 lakh crore in the coming years, offers fertile ground at the intersection of cinema and code.
“With Shatak, we proudly present one of the world’s first AI-led full-length feature films while marking our strategic entry into film production and media technology through our subsidiary,” the company said in a statement. “Our vision is to combine India’s rich narrative heritage with forward-looking innovation. This is just the beginning of building globally competitive, technology-enabled cinematic experiences.”
From infrastructure to imagination, Kridhan’s latest venture suggests that in today’s India, even storytelling can be engineered.
