After appearing in Dhurandhar, Saumya Tandon is stepping into uncharted territory with the experimental short film Vispala: India’s Forgotten Warrior Queen, directed by Ishan Modi.
What drew her to the 25-minute project was its unconventional storytelling approach — blending generative artificial intelligence with live-action performance to retell an ancient legend.
The film revisits Vispala, believed to be among India’s earliest warrior queens, who is said to have returned to battle with a prosthetic limb. Running parallel is the story of Ishani, a modern-day woman whose resilience mirrors that ancient spirit.
“I Wanted to Abandon the Project”
Tandon admitted that working with AI-driven performance techniques was far more challenging than she anticipated.
Accustomed to traditional acting methods grounded in emotional immersion, she found it disorienting to first create a digital avatar and then train it to replicate emotional nuance.
“I’m used to internalising a character and emoting naturally. Here, you create a digital avatar, and then you have to teach it to express emotions. In the beginning, it was so frustrating that I wanted to abandon the project,” she shared in an interview with Mid-Day.
The process required close collaboration with the AI team and a level of technical patience unfamiliar to her previous acting experiences. Over time, she adapted to the hybrid format and embraced the learning curve.
Mythology Meets Modern Conflict
Inspired by references in the Rig Veda, the film portrays Vispala as a symbol of endurance after receiving an iron prosthetic leg and returning to combat.
Tandon plays Ishani, a contemporary woman who runs a prosthetic limb foundation while navigating tensions within her marriage. The narrative draws parallels between ancient physical battles and modern emotional struggles.
“Whether it’s a warrior queen in 1200 BC or a modern woman in 2026, the real battle is often against ego within a relationship,” Tandon observed.
The dual timeline reinforces the idea that resilience transcends eras.
AI as a Storytelling Partner
What distinguishes Vispala is its deliberate integration of artificial intelligence into the narrative structure. Mythological segments are rendered through AI-generated visuals to evoke scale and timelessness, while present-day sequences are filmed in live action to preserve emotional authenticity.
Rather than using AI for brief flashbacks, the film intercuts past and present with visual symmetry and thematic parallels, allowing both timelines to engage in dialogue.
The creators position AI not as a replacement for performance, but as a collaborator that expands cinematic possibilities.
A New Phase in Saumya Tandon’s Career
Scheduled to premiere on YouTube, Vispala: India’s Forgotten Warrior Queen marks a significant shift in Tandon’s artistic journey. By stepping into a technology-driven format, she explores the intersection of performance and digital innovation.
At its core, however, the project remains anchored in character and emotion — elements that have defined her work.
For Tandon, the film represents more than an experimental role; it signals how storytelling in India is evolving, blending mythology, technology, and human experience into a new cinematic language.
