Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, Shalini Pandey and Industry Leaders Discuss the Future of Storytelling at Dreams Unlocked Festival 2025

Mumbai News : Artificial intelligence took centre stage at the Dreams Unlocked Festival 2025 in Mumbai, where leading voices from film, music, and media came together to discuss how technology is reshaping creative expression.

The panel, titled “Creativity Can Find New Doors in the Age of AI,” featured filmmaker Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, actor Shalini Pandey, musician Ankur Tiwari, Viral Jani, Chief Revenue Officer (India & South Asia) at Universal Music Group, and Sameer Nair, CEO of Applause Entertainment.

The discussion explored the opportunities and challenges that artificial intelligence presents for artists, with the speakers emphasizing that while technology can enhance creativity, it cannot replace human emotion or individuality.

“As a storyteller, I can’t afford to be scared of technology. I need to evolve with it, embrace AI, and use my strength in understanding human emotions to bring depth to stories.” said Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari. 

Actor Shalini Pandey agreed and added saying “AI can help me save time and understand cultural nuances, but my characters come from my own emotions. Acting is personal, and that’s something I don’t want to lose.”

Shedding light on the aspect of creativity and how u like other industries the entertainment industry is more people driven, Sameer Nair said “AI will make things faster and more efficient, but storytelling isn’t something that can be mass-produced. Individuality and human insight will always define great stories, machines can help, but they can’t replace the soul of creation"

The panel concluded on an optimistic note, with the speakers emphasizing that the future of creativity will be defined by collaboration between humans and technology and that while it is a reality there has to be a careful consideration of what may be seen as intrusive versus an aiding tool. It was discussed that AI should be seen as an enabler rather than a substitute for artistic expression.