AI and the future of storytelling take centre stage at Mumbai festival

Artificial intelligence may be altering the creation and consumption of stories, but storytellers at the Mumbai International Storytelling Festival 2026 (MIST) are confident it could make oral storytelling more valuable. In a panel discussing the future of narrative, poet Ameen Haque argued that dominant trends often produce counter-trends.

The rise of AI, he suggested, could spark a renewed appreciation for oral storytelling. Haque, founder of the Storywallahs organisation, cited the example of colour photography, which made black-and-white photography more special.

The two-day MIST festival, organized by the Mumbai Storytellers Society (MSS), featured panelists Mara Menzies, Sowmya R Srinivasan, and Hema Subramanian. Moderator Usha Venkatraman, founder of MSS, pointed out that a new medium doesn't necessarily replace an older one but can change how people experience it, based on media theorist Marshall McLuhan.

Haque noted that despite concerns about shrinking attention spans, people still spend hours watching series like Game of Thrones or The Family Man. He argued that a compelling story can hold attention even in an age of short attention spans. Soul Story Mandala founder Srinivasan discussed how storytelling can be a deeply personal experience.

By sharing folktales, people can connect with their own memories and experiences. "In Soul Story Mandala, a story is told and people connect to how they feel about the story. The images and the memories take them on a journey. You choose to take what you want from that story and that becomes your point of transformation," she explained.

Expressionist Hema Subramanian emphasized that the way a story is told depends on the character and the emotion at its core. "As a storyteller, you don't remain yourself. You actually get into the story, you understand the character, you try to live the space the character is living in," she said.

Menzies spoke about the transition from live performance to written word. Her book Blood and Gold: A Journey of Shadows evolved from a live performance, touring 27 countries before becoming a novel. Converting the performance to a book required finding words for actions previously conveyed through gestures and facial expressions, while the written format allowed her to expand the story beyond the limits of an hour-long performance.