Guneet Monga on Why One Shouldn't Be 'Ashamed' of Song and Dance: ‘Naagin' Can Be an International Epic

At the Women in Film India gathering in Mumbai, the conversation kept returning to one idea: Indian storytelling is standing at the brink of possibility, and the only way forward is to take chances with stories and storytellers. The conversation wasn’t about strategy or trend-spotting as much as it was about the way our stories can travel when they stay honest.

Guneet Monga Kapoor set the tone early. Talking about her 2023 production Kill, Monga spoke about how the actioner reminded her that Indian cinema doesn’t have to step away from its roots to appeal to the world. “Our folklore, our visuals, our song and dance… this is our superpower. It’s not something to be ashamed of. It’s something to embrace,” she said. 

For her, the historical core is what gives Indian storytelling its global strength. There are centuries of mythology, inherited memory, and community stories waiting to be reimagined, she noted.

“There is so much in Sikh history, so much in Mughal history. Even something as familiar as Naagin could become an incredible international epic,” she said. Dramas still work, she pointed out, but genre gives Indian filmmakers more chances to break out, with horror, thrillers and action that can carry a deeply Indian emotional grammar.

The discussion then drifted naturally toward the future, and Caleb Franklin, founder and CEO of Matter Entertainment, offered a perspective grounded in what he sees in the global market every day.

AI was inevitably the subject everyone wanted a conversation around. “There’s something the market is feeling around AI,” he said. “The US is going to invest a trillion dollars in AI next year. Sundance has an AI section. TIFF has an AI section. IFFI has an AI section. These films are cheaper to make, and they’re getting picked up.”

He compared the moment to the early days of CGI, when many feared that VFX would dilute the craft of cinema. Instead, it became part of everything we watch today. AI, he believes, is moving in the same direction. “If you have a great show today that blends live action and AI, it gets a pickup,” he said. “We’re selling them like hot cakes.” And the barrier to entry is lower than people imagine. “You don’t need a techie bro,” he added with a laugh. “It’s an artist's medium.”

From technology, the room moved into the equally important realities of a film once the creative work is done. That is where Archana Misra Jain, Oscar nominee and indie film marketing specialist, stepped in.

She spoke about the need to treat a film the way one would treat a young company. “It’s time that filmmakers treat their film like a startup, instead of a piece of art” she said. “Give quarterly updates. Ask for support openly. Sometimes the update is simply, ‘I’m stuck,’ and even that helps because someone might step forward.”

Misra Jain brought in her experience with the Homebound Oscar campaign, which recently concluded its US screenings. Diaspora audiences connected to it immediately, but what surprised her was how deeply Academy members felt the same thing. “Neeraj didn’t make an anti-establishment film. He made a pro-humanity film. And that resonates," she added.