Desire is the root of all suffering, Buddha told us.
All our wishes and expectations cannot be fulfilled. Sometimes because of our own limitations, sometimes because of unfavorable situations. Unfulfilled desires, and emotions that are suppressed instead of resolved, stay hidden inside us, waiting for a chance to bring us down. We shut doors and windows, put locks and chains, install CCTV and alarms – everything outside. But the real enemy stays inside, with us. One that looks like us, behaves like us, speaks like us, and knows us inside out. We ourselves raise it, feed it, and make it strong – only to cause our own downfall.
We cannot keep this inner beast under control forever if we suppress it rather than resolve it.
“Mann-Pishach” is a new experiment that reveals these ghosts of the suppressed mind, as if reflected in a mirror...
It's a one-and-a-half-hour zero-budget film made using AI technology by Rahi Anil Barve, Zai Gulmohar, Yaaneea Bharadwaj, and Deepak Damle.
In the age of OTT platforms, Rahi’s team has released the full film on YouTube, and has even openly shared the ‘secret formula’ of how to make a zero-budget film.
The film mentions inspiration from the stories of Narayan Dharap. There is a peculiar way of giving human emotions a tangible form – through extreme behavior, sharp contrasts in thoughts and actions, physical distortions, and taboo acts. Rahi has so far successfully experimented with storytelling through films like Tumbbad and Mayasabha. But in the case of Mann-Pishach, there is something different, something new.
Instead of using modern technology (AI) to make films in the traditional style, Rahi’s team seems to have tried writing and creating a type of film that AI can be comfortable making with. This is not just a change like replacing a reed pen (boru) with a ballpoint or a diary with a laptop.
Instead of characters directly talking to each other, the story unfolds through the narration of a single character. Unusual close-ups, very different from regular camera angles, and beautiful frames that show fine details – from a wrinkle on the forehead to a drop of sweat that moves the story forward – this may also require preparing the audience to be AI-ready – to watch, understand, and appreciate it.
People still fear that AI will steal their jobs. But Rahi’s experiment proves that AI can also help a broke artist create an amazing piece of art.
May he make more such films. May others be inspired to use AI creatively and constructively in their own fields. And may this new technology help resolve the hidden desires within us, so that the ghosts of our suppressed minds do not turn into “Mann-Pishach” and attack us in the dark night – this is a hopeful yet fearful prayer of a suppressed mind at the feet of AI.
~ Mandar Shinde
18/03/2026
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