Aranya Sahay’s Hindi feature film Humans in the Loop is a lyrical meditation on technology, identity and systemic bias. At its center is Nehma (Sonal Madhushankar), a tribal woman from the Oraon community who, after a failed marriage, returns to her village in Jharkhand with two children. Struggling for stability, she takes a job as a data labeler at an AI center, only to discover that the biases ingrained in her world are quietly replicated by the machines she helps train. What begins as a means of survival soon forces her to confront the inescapable realities of power and oppression. A significant work in India’s independent cinema, the film challenges whether AI, like history, will always serve those in power or if, like Nehma, it can shape a different future.

Humans in the Loop premiered in the Focus South Asia section of the 2024 MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. At the 2025 Bengaluru International Film Festival, it won Best Film and the FIPRESCI award in the Indian Cinema Competition. In this interview, Sahay discusses how Humans in the Loop’s Adivasi protagonist serves both as a cultural lens and an emotional anchor via themes of perception, power and belonging, and he also breaks down the correlation between AI, ancestry and systemic inequity.

Humans in the Loop Interview: Related — Interview with ‘Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal’ Filmmaker Sharan Venugopal

Dipankar Sarkar: Having studied direction at the Film and Television Institute of India, how did your time there shape your cinematic sensibilities? Were there specific influences or experiences that helped you develop the distinct voice we see in your debut feature film?

Aranya Sahay: Studying at FTII significantly shaped my sensibilities. The most practical part was being exposed to a wide range of films I hadn’t even heard of before joining the institute. My greatest influences include G. Aravindan’s films, the way Carlos Reygadas explores time and Denis Villeneuve’s shot composition. But what impacted me most was watching student films from senior batches — there’s a sense of abandon and freedom in them that I still find inspiring. I often revisit a few, especially Hazy Grey Skies [2006], edited by my faculty member Suchitra Sathe.

My academic exercises at FTII also helped sharpen my internal voice, teaching me what to trust and what to discard. They were exercises in courage, too. I believe placing the camera and directing the viewer’s gaze is among the most courageous choices one makes in filmmaking.

Humans in the Loop Interview: Related — An Interview with ‘Poem of the Wind’ Filmmaker Ramakaushalyan Ramakrishnan

DS: Humans in the Loop is a striking interrogation of the intersection between artificial intelligence and systemic inequity. What compelled you to explore this subject through the lens of an Adivasi protagonist? 

AS: What first drew me to this subject was the fact that data labeling work is taking place in Adivasi areas. As I learned more about the process — tagging photos and videos to help algorithms distinguish between, say, a chair and a table — it struck me as remarkably similar to parenting.

The idea of an Adivasi parent training an AI child using first-world data and a Western worldview felt deeply compelling. It offered a unique opportunity to tell a story where the cultural gap between the teacher and the taught becomes the heart of the narrative, making the Adivasi perspective essential.

Humans in the Loop Interview: Related — An Interview with ‘Bokshi’ Filmmaker Bhargav Saikia

DS: Humans in the Loop suggests that labeling — whether through ancestral cave paintings or contemporary AI algorithms — shapes perception and power. Did this idea evolve during the writing process, or was it an inherent part of your narrative from the outset?  

AS: This became clear during my research. While traveling through the remote areas of Jharkhand, I came across old colonial structures — single-gauge trains and colonial arches. The presence of these structures made me realize that what happened nearly 300 years ago, when colonizers came and deemed indigenous knowledge systems primitive and tribals as savages, could happen again if AI is primarily trained on first-world data.

Humans in the Loop Interview: Related — An Interview with ‘In the Name of Fire’ Filmmaker Abhilash Sharma

DS: The mother-daughter dynamic in Humans in the Loop adds a layer of generational tension, reflecting the ongoing struggle between tradition and modernity. How important was this relationship in shaping the film’s emotional core? 

AS: The mother-daughter story gave me the emotional push and pull needed to anchor the film’s philosophical and scientific ideas. Another layer of the generational tension you mentioned appears in the idea that AI is like a child. In psychology, much research suggests that children are born as a blank slate, with patterns forming in the first five years. However, other studies point to the presence of over 300 ancestral behavioral patterns in children, which are triggered by specific situations or environments. I applied this perspective on child-rearing and development to the AI in the story. Like AI, Dhaanu also has ancestral patterns which get expressed in the form of her relationship with the porcupine.

Humans in the Loop Interview: Related — An Interview with ‘Sabar Bonda’ Filmmaker Rohan Kanawade

DS: The porcupine is repeatedly used in some of Humans in the Loop’s key moments. What does this metaphorically represent in Nehma’s journey? 

AS: In many tribal communities, totems serve a role similar to that of kul-devtas (clan deities) and devis (goddesses) in Hindu traditions. They are ancestral guardian spirits that protect the tribe. But unlike deities limited to human or divine form, totems can be animals, plants or even fruits. This idea forms the first layer of the porcupine’s presence in the film.

Metaphorically, the porcupine holds a deeper meaning for Nehma. As a child, she shared a unique bond with this shy, elusive animal — one of the most reclusive creatures in the forest. This connection suggests that Nehma possessed an extraordinary intimacy with nature, even more than those around her. And through this closeness to nature, she was connected deeply to herself. She was whole. But life fractured that wholeness. Her marriage to a non-Adivasi man brought judgment and alienation. She was called a savage, a drunkard. Her daughter rejected her worldview. In this fall from belonging, she moved from completeness to dislocation.

The final sequence of the film, where Dhaanu gently calls to a porcupine, brings this metaphor full circle. When Nehma sees her daughter connect with the same creature that once meant so much to her, it signals a quiet restoration. The part of her that was lost returns — not directly, but through her child. Thus, the porcupine becomes a symbol of both identity and continuity — something left behind and returned to transform.

Humans in the Loop Interview: Related — An Interview with ‘In Retreat’ Filmmaker Maisam Ali

DS: Sonal Madhushankar as Nehma and Ridhima Singh as Dhaanu are understated and deeply resonant in their performances. What directorial approaches did you use to create such naturalistic portrayals?

AS: My initial wish was to cast an Adivasi woman who was also an actor, but I couldn’t find anyone in Mumbai. The next challenge was finding someone who looked the part — difficult in a film industry so oriented around fair skin. I considered working with non-actors, but this role demanded a nuanced performance, an understanding of the camera, spatial awareness and emotional range. These are the things that non-actors often struggle with. That’s why, apart from the leads — Nehma and the manager Alka — most of the cast are non-actors.

For Nehma’s role, played by Sonal, I needed someone who could carry an emotional arc both internally and externally. We did extensive workshops that were different for Nehma and Dhanu. Sonal isn’t from Jharkhand or the Adivasi community, so I exposed her to everyday life in those settings — visiting ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists) workers, trekking through forests. We walked the jungle together for days before the shoot. Initially, she moved awkwardly, like a non-native, but by the fifth day, her gait became instinctive.

Dhanu, played by Ridhima Singh, is from Jharkhand, but she is also not an Adivasi. As a non-actor with references rooted in Nagpuri cinema, which are more performative and stylized, she needed time to adapt. I made her watch other kinds of films, gradually reshaping her sense of realism. We worked scene by scene; for each, I had the actors identify one core emotion to carry through. Despite her inexperience, Dhanu surrendered to the process. Though older than her character, I noticed her body language shift. By the third day, she fully embodied the role of a 12-year-old girl.

Humans in the Loop Interview: Related — An Interview with ‘Feminist Fathima’ Filmmaker Fasil Muhammed

DS: The juxtaposition of Jharkhand’s landscapes with the sterile environment of the AI lab is visually potent. How did you and your cinematographers, Harshit Saini and Monica Tiwari, conceptualize these contrasts to reinforce the film’s themes?

AS: We worked with two cinematographers due to Monica’s limited availability. We had two shooting schedules — December and March. Monica and I collaborated closely on the visual design. Initially, we envisioned the data labeling center as a sterile, white-walled space like a real computer lab. But it felt lifeless, especially since much of the film unfolds there. While scouting for the divorce scene, we found the Ranchi Bar Association’s office with richly textured walls. That discovery shifted our approach, and the data center became a more grounded, NGO-like rural setup.

A key brief of mine was to treat close-ups with the same cinematic weight as wide shots. We chose the 1.55:1 aspect ratio for its ability to render both faces and landscapes with equal visual depth, creating a fluid rhythm between wide and close frames.

Budget limitations affected the first schedule. We had only tracks, not a gimbal, so camera movement was minimal and the data center scenes were largely static. In the second schedule, my batchmate Harshit joined. We kept the visual tone Monica and I had set, especially the color profile, but made the style more dynamic. With a smaller camera and a gimbal, we introduced fluid movement in scenes of the girls walking through forests and villages.

Moreover, limited winter daylight and a tight lighting budget meant we relied mostly on natural light. We timed scenes to match the available light, often shooting indoors during harsh sun. Throughout, my guiding principle was that the frame should mirror the character’s inner state. Even in quiet moments, like Nehma dreaming, I wanted the image to hold subtle life — smoke, movement or layered textures.

I would also like to mention that Gunjan Jaywant, Monica’s first Camera Assistant, stepped in when she had to leave on the last day and later shot several important sequences with me. He filmed moments like the girl placing her ear on the boulder, parts of the jungle scenes and intimate interiors — like Nehma sleeping beside the baby, with its foot gently moving.

Humans in the Loop Interview: Related — An Interview with ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ Co-Writer Trishant Srivastava

DS: Kalhan Raina’s work subtly enhances Humans in the Loop’s sonic textures to create a unique atmosphere. What was your brief to him regarding the aural structure?

AS: Visually and sonically, everything evolved from both the film’s themes and its form. The key themes — AI, the jungle and Nehma’s home — shaped how we approached transitions. For instance, in the scene where Nehma sees the AI figure for the first time, we layered a voice-over from an AI manual explaining how it perceives its movements as valid and itself as alive. That audio overlaps with a shot of the baby’s foot moving in the palna (cradle), using sound as a unique bridge between two distinct spaces.

We could’ve taken a more experimental route by using distorted dial-up sounds but chose a more restrained, almost classical approach, because the film’s language didn’t lean into a wacky techno aesthetic. Instead, we focused on deep immersion within each world. The sound design was carefully detailed — the precise rhythm of typing, the texture of footsteps [and] the stillness of the jungle where even a leaf’s crispness mattered. In Dhanu’s jungle sequence, that stillness gradually gives way to cacophony and that becomes a deliberate arc.

Humans in the Loop Interview: Related — An Interview with ‘Appuram’ Filmmaker Indu Lakshmi

DS: You co-edited Humans in the Loop with Swaroop Reghu, allowing moments of silence and reflection to take precedence. How did this collaboration help in shaping the film’s pacing? 

AS: Swaroop’s contribution to the film was immense, especially in helping restructure the narrative using the existing footage. We had initially envisioned a very different structure, but during the shoot, we realized the girl’s performance, though she had a sensitive face, didn’t always hold during dialogue-heavy scenes. So, I had to reimagine her character from an angsty teenager to a quieter one, which required significant rearranging of scenes. That’s where Swaroop helped. Coming from an assistant director background, he pushed to make even the weaker scenes work — those that didn’t land due to rushed shooting or time constraints. While well-directed scenes edited smoothly, the challenge lay in fixing the uneven ones, and Swaroop helped me learn how to break down footage and rebuild scenes effectively.

The idea of chapterization came from me. Swaroop edited for about a month and a half, after which I continued alone due to his other commitments. That solo phase shaped the film’s pacing and structure. Later, once the broad structure was in place, Swaroop and I sat together and fine-tuned the rhythm.

Humans in the Loop Interview: Related — An Interview with ‘Roopanthara’ Filmmaker Mithilesh Edavalath

DS: Humans in the Loop has garnered praise at several prominent film festivals in India. Do you think this will help secure a theatrical release, especially for a film that challenges mainstream narratives on technology and systemic bias?

AS: All our efforts are geared toward a theatrical release. The ongoing marketing and daily screenings are meant to keep the conversation around the film alive.

At MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024, where the film was screened last year, I noticed that out of 300 viewers, nearly 50 shared personal Instagram write-ups about the film. That made it clear the film resonates deeply with people. So, the goal now is to show it to as many viewers as possible. I hope to reach people through these screenings before the theatrical release to build enough momentum for a strong opening. So, when it hits theatres, there’s already a buzz: “Did you see this film? Let’s go watch it.”

Alongside OTT, we’re exploring the idea of small, focused theatrical releases — targeting select cities like those in Jharkhand, with just one show per day in each theatre. All marketing efforts would go into filling that single show, rather than spreading too thin with a wide release. This strategy feels achievable. Many films falter by going too wide too soon. But with one show a day, we can build word of mouth and gradually add more shows. We’re fully committed to making the theatrical release happen.

Dipankar Sarkar (@Dipankar_Tezpur) is a graduate in film editing from the Film and Television Institute of India and currently based in Mumbai. As a freelancer, he frequently contributes to various Indian publications on cinema-related topics.

Humans in the Loop Interview: Related — An Interview with ‘Body’ Filmmaker Abhijit Mazumdar