Four AI-enabled Indian short films premiere with YouTube

The Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) and YouTube premiered the first four AI-enabled short films from their Create with AI programme at the IICT Theatre in Mumbai on 7 October 2026, according to a Press Information Bureau release. The filmmakers released each film on their own YouTube channels the same day, alongside IICT.

The films are the first output of a programme announced in November 2025 to support AI-led creative projects in India. It pairs IICT's infrastructure and faculty mentorship with YouTube's AI software, tools and credits, and the participating studios used those tools across concept development, visualisation, production and post-production.

What is the Create with AI programme?

IICT is India's National Centre of Excellence for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics and Extended Reality, set up with the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, the Government of Maharashtra, FICCI and CII, the release says. Its first campus opened at the NFDC Complex in July 2025, and a permanent 10-acre campus is under development at Film City, Goregaon. IICT currently offers 18 courses.

The four films span history, mythology and space. ANI reports that Chekavar, by Avium Studios, is a fictional story set against the 1741 Battle of Colachel; CHANAKYA – The Mind of an Empire, by Eleventh Door Studio, follows the Mauryan strategist Chanakya; DEVI: The Nine Astras, by Kalpanik Films LLP, depicts the goddess Shakti; and Laika, by Karthik Kult Kreations, follows a dog sent into space. Filmmaker Rajesh Mapuskar attended the showcase and met the creative teams, The Economic Times reports.

The programme's reach is institutional. The release does not name the AI models the studios used beyond Google and YouTube's own technologies, and it sets out no public route for other creators to join. Viewers get behind-the-scenes material on the tools and process instead.

IICT chief executive Dr Vishwas Deoskar said the programme gives Indian creative studios room to experiment and build new filmmaking workflows. He added: "India has the opportunity to lead the next chapter of AI-led filmmaking." YouTube India managing director Gunjan Soni said the partnership shows what independent Indian storytelling can do with frontier technology. A Gen Media India report by Public First and Google, cited in the coverage, estimates generative media tools give creative workers in India a 20% productivity boost, or roughly 390 hours a year.

Watch the four films on the filmmakers' YouTube channels and on IICT's channel; the behind-the-scenes content sits alongside them.

Programme card

• Programme: Create with AI
• Partners: Indian Institute of Creative Technologies and YouTube
• Announced: November 2025
• Premiere: 7 October 2026, IICT Theatre, Mumbai
• Films: Chekavar; CHANAKYA – The Mind of an Empire; DEVI: The Nine Astras; Laika
• Studios: Avium Studios; Eleventh Door Studio; Kalpanik Films LLP; Karthik Kult Kreations
• Watch: the filmmakers' YouTube channels and IICT's channel