In a defining moment for India’s emerging AI-driven creative landscape, Kalyug Rising – The Beginning has carved a place for itself on the global stage. The project secured a spot among the Top 10 at the prestigious Higgsfield “Make Your Action” Competition, ranking 9th worldwide among over 9,000 entries spanning more than 100 countries. Notably, it stands as the only Indian AI film to achieve this distinction-marking a significant milestone for the country’s evolving intersection of cinema and artificial intelligence.
At the heart of this achievement is a powerful collaboration between AI-first creative studio Imagine If and filmmaker Prataya Saha. What began as an exploration into the creative possibilities of AI has rapidly evolved into a benchmark for next-generation cinematic storytelling, one that balances technological innovation with narrative depth.
The journey of Kalyug Rising -The Beginning is rooted in experimentation. Early AI-generated videos associated with the project amassed over 60 million views within weeks, demonstrating not just virality but a growing appetite for visually immersive, AI-powered storytelling. This momentum laid the groundwork for Imagine If, a studio that positions itself at the forefront of a new film-making paradigm—where AI is not merely a tool, but a creative collaborator.
Driving this vision is a core creative trio- Prataya Saha (Writer/Director), Krishna (Founder, Imagine If), and AI artist Ankush Deva. Together, they are pushing the boundaries of what AI can achieve in narrative filmmaking while maintaining a sharp focus on realism and emotional resonance.
Krishna reflects on the studio’s philosophy: “We didn’t set out to go viral. We set out to understand how far AI could push storytelling. The virality and global recognition came as a byproduct of focusing on quality, realism, and storytelling from day one. With Imagine If, we’re building a studio that doesn’t just use AI, but redefines how films and brand stories are created.”
For Prataya Saha, the project represents a natural evolution of cinematic language. “I’ve always believed AI and live-action hybrid filmmaking is the future. With Kalyug Rising, the story came first-AI simply allowed us to push its scale and ambition further. Collaborating with Imagine If enabled that vision to be executed at a global standard,” he shares.
Adding to this creative synergy is Ankush Deva, whose approach to AI goes beyond aesthetics. “AI is not just visual output, it’s about building a cinematic language. With Kalyug Rising, the goal was to push realism to a point where the medium disappears, leaving only the story,” he explains.
What makes Kalyug Rising – The Beginning particularly compelling is its positioning at the convergence of mythology, futurism, and technology re-imagining storytelling through an AI lens without losing its emotional core. It signals a broader shift in how stories can be conceptualized, produced, and experienced in the digital age.
As Imagine If expands its slate of AI-led films and branded storytelling projects, the success of Kalyug Rising is more than a singular achievement, it is a statement. A statement that Indian creators are not just participants in the global AI revolution, but active innovators shaping its future.
