Movies
Madhya Pradesh, from heartland to global screens
MUMBAI: Lights, camera, action, and Madhya Pradesh is ready for its close-up. The heartland of India is fast emerging as a vibrant hub for filmmaking, blending local authenticity with stories that resonate across the globe.
At the recent session From Heartland to International Screens: MP in Focus, celebrated filmmakers, actors, and state leaders came together to explore how Madhya Pradesh is shaping narratives that travel far beyond borders. The panel was moderated by actor and voice artist Vijay Vikram Singh, who set the tone by highlighting the state’s unique blend of culture, heritage, and cinematic potential.
Madhya Pradesh tourism board additional managing director Bidisha Mukherjee, credited the state’s success to its film-friendly policies, ease of doing business, and exotic locations. “From heritage cities like Mandu and Orchha to rural landscapes such as Chambal, MP offers a range of locations that can fit any story,” she said. The state also incentivises women-led and environmentally conscious projects, providing additional support for filmmakers.
Speaking from personal experience, Sunny Hinduja, actor and producer from Indore, praised the warm hospitality and the homely feel of shooting in MP. “The people, the food, the culture, it all makes the filmmaking experience so welcoming,” he said. Hinduja also revealed plans to produce more content in the state, highlighting MP’s potential as a creative springboard.
The Viral Fever president Vijay Koshy underlined the professionalism and dedication of local crews, pointing out that the availability of trained technicians reduces the logistical burden for production houses. Filmmakers also noted that MP’s bureaucracy is unusually proactive, with shooting permissions granted quickly and processes made fully online.
Director Jitank Gurjar, hailing from Gwalior, reflected on the cultural diversity across the state. “Every 50 kilometres, the dialect, the culture, even the way people express emotions changes. Yet human emotions are universal, and MP captures that beautifully,” he said.
Actor Huma Qureshi added her perspective on MP’s growing film landscape, “The state doesn’t just provide locations; it becomes part of the story. There is a warmth and openness here that instantly connects with everyone on set, making creativity flow effortlessly.”
The session underscored Madhya Pradesh’s growing role in India’s creative economy. With a combination of government support, diverse locations, skilled talent, and a welcoming culture, the state is positioning itself as a preferred destination for filmmakers looking to tell stories that resonate both locally and globally.
Hollywood
Utopai Studios partners Huace to deploy PAI for long form content
Deal includes revenue sharing as Huace adopts AI engine across global ops
MUMBAI: Lights, camera… algorithm, the script just got a silicon co-writer. In a move that signals how storytelling itself is being re-engineered, U.S.-based Utopai Studios has partnered China’s Huace Film & TV Co. Ltd. to bring artificial general intelligence into the heart of long-form content creation.
At the centre of the deal is PAI, Utopai’s cinematic storytelling system, which Huace will deploy as a core engine across its production pipeline from development and creative iteration to global localisation. The partnership includes a large-scale annual usage commitment from Huace, alongside a usage-based revenue-sharing model, underscoring both ambition and commercial confidence on both sides.
For Huace, one of China’s largest film and television companies, the bet is not on automation alone but on scale with control. With distribution spanning over 200 countries and a presence across more than 20 international platforms, including Netflix and YouTube, the company brings a vast content ecosystem where even marginal efficiency gains can translate into significant output shifts. Its extensive TV IP library further positions it as fertile ground for AI-assisted storytelling workflows.
The choice of PAI follows what Huace described as a rigorous evaluation of existing AI tools, many of which remain limited to fragmented use cases such as video generation or editing. What tipped the scales, according to the company, was PAI’s ability to handle long-form narrative complexity maintaining continuity, structure, and creative coherence across entire story arcs rather than isolated clips.
Utopai, for its part, is using the partnership to anchor its international expansion strategy, pitching PAI as an enterprise-ready system built for customisation, privacy, and regulatory adaptability across markets. That positioning becomes particularly relevant as global media companies increasingly scrutinise how AI integrates into proprietary workflows.
The timing is notable. Earlier this month, Utopai upgraded PAI to support three-minute 4K video generation and advanced multi-shot sequencing features designed to tackle one of AI storytelling’s biggest hurdles: consistency across scenes.
What emerges is not just another tech collaboration, but a glimpse into how the grammar of filmmaking could evolve. Because if stories were once crafted frame by frame, the next chapter might just be coded scene by scene.
